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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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Annals anti flMiquitm 

OF 

LACOCK ABBEY, 

IN THE COUNTY OF WILTS j 

WITH 

MEMORIALS OF THE FOUNDRESS 

ELA COUNTESS OF SALISBURY, 

AND OF 

THE EARLS OF SALISBURY 

OF THE 

$ou£e£ o£ i&arigtiurg anti Eonge^e; 

INCLUDING NOTICES OF 
THE MONASTERIES OF BRADENSTOKE, HINTON, AND FARLEY. 

BY THE 

REV. W. L. BOWLES, MA. M.R.S.L. 

AND 

JOHN GOUGH NICHOLS. 



E'en now, amid the wavering ivy-wreaths, 

While kindred thoughts the pensive sounds inspire, 

Where the weak breeze in many a whisper breathes, 
I seem to listen to the chanting quire. 

Warton. 



LONDON : 
JOHN BOWYER NICHOLS AND SON, 

25, PARLIAMENT STREET. 

1835. 






J. B. NICHOLS AND SON, 25, PARLIAMENT STREET. 



\%-¥76 



N, 



TO 



CHARLTON BYAM WOLLASTON, Esq. 



OF DORSETSHIRE, 



ONE OF MY KINDEST AND OLDEST FRIENDS, 



THIS HISTORY 



IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 



BY 



THE AUTHOR. 

Salisbury, April 5, 1835. 



PREFACE, 



Having brought to a conclusion my meditated 
design, the thought of which was excited by an 
accidental and interesting circumstance, as related 
in the Introductory Chapter, I have only, in this 
place, to state the sources, and materials, of the 
present work, and to acknowledge the assistance 
which I have received in the course of my inquiries. 
The Abbey of Lacock, like every other, had its 
Cartulary ; and, like most of them, a chronicle, or 
something of the kind, peculiarly relating to its 
own history. The former is safely preserved at 
Lacock itself; the latter, there seems good reason 
to suppose, was destroyed at the fire which so seri- 
ously injured the Cottonian collection of Manu- 
scripts in the year 1731. 

It was quoted by Vincent and some others of 
the old Heralds as the Book of Lacock ; being, 
when Vincent examined it, in the possession of 
Sir Robert Cotton, and previously, it seems, in the 
hands of John Stow. In the Report of a Com- 



VI PREFACE. 

mittee of the House of Commons, which was made 
after the fire, no manuscript is mentioned under 
this name ; but it may be well supposed to be the 
same as that which is thus described : 

" Epistolce Beatricis, S. Maria? et S. Benedicti 
de Lacoc Ministrce, continent Elogium fcemince 
nobilissimce et venerabilis Matris, El^, quondam 
Abbatissce, et Comitissce de Warwike [Sarum\? 

This tract was the last of five which were bound 
up in the same volume, Tiberius B. xiii. and it is 
reported as " wholly destroyed." The middle of 
the volume, containing No. 2, with portions of 
Nos. 1 and 3, escaped, and now form the volume 
bearing the same number ; but they have no rela- 
tion to Lacock. 

The fire was unkind to Lacock and to the me- 
mory of Ela : for there was another MS. containing 
matter relating to this House. This was Vitellius 
A. viii. consisting of thirteen distinct treatises : of 
which No. 10 is entitled, " Annates a Christo nato 
ad annum 1448, scripti a quodam monacho de La- 
cock ; " of which the portion rescued from the fire 
ends with the year 1120, that is, more than a cen- 
tury before Lacock was founded. No. 11 of the 
same volume, which was entitled, " De Gulielmo 
Longspee, et JiUis ejus" was wholly destroyed, 



PREFACE. Vll 

Thus, in the case of both volumes, the portions lost 
were those which related to the subject of our re- 
searches. 

Vincent had transcribed from the Book of La- 
cock all that he deemed illustrative of the genealogy 
of the Foundress ; a part only of which transcript, 
and that with an important omission, having been 
inserted by Dugdale in the Monasticon, the whole 
that is now known to exist of this curious and ro- 
mantic history, has been printed at the close of the 
present volume. # 

This singular monastic composition, full of 
romantic incidents, has led, in the present volume, 
to more extended researches into the lives and 
genealogy of the Earls of Salisbury, — a subject 
intimately connected with the history of a Monas- 
tery, which was founded by the heiress of that 
princely Earldom, and to which she herself retired 
to spend her latter days in peace and devotion. 

With these accessories, our History has acquired 
a new character, no known fact having been omitted 
which could illustrate the Biography of the Earls 
of Salisbury, of the two first Houses, after the 
Conquest, bearing the names of Sarisbury and 
Longespe. 

* Appendix, pp. i — v. and Addenda, p. 374<. 



VUl PREFACE. 

The intricate mazes of Genealogy have been pain- 
fully, but I trust most successfully, traced by the 
indefatigable pains of a younger and far abler 
guide, Mr. J. G. Nichols ; and I feel assured that 
no questions, relating to family history, have been 
more strictly investigated, than those of the connec- 
tions of the noble Longespe, and the elder members 
of the House of Salisbury. My share of this most 
difficult portion of my work is concluded in the 
fourth chapter ; and from the end of that chapter 
I had the advantage of the active co-operatipn of 
this intelligent and indefatigable investigator of 
family genealogy. In fact, having undertaken the 
task of relating the history of an establishment 
founded so long ago, devoted to piety, as piety was 
then understood, and connected with the history of 
monastic remains, consigned long since to de- 
struction, I felt, when the storm seemed, not re- 
motely, to lour over our own altars, that the time 
was comparatively mis-employed, in reverting to 
scenes, and institutions, and characters so long passed 
away, and was not unwilling to drop the record 
entirely, affected, if not awed, by the position of my 
own church and country. 

Into the hands of Mr. J. G. Nichols, therefore, I 
delivered whatever papers and documents I had col- 
lected ; and he did indeed more than, with any 



PREFACE. IX 

pains, I could have done, having a ready access to 
the great national repository of books and antiqua- 
rian documents in the British Museum, 

To him, not myself only, but the literary world, 
is indebted for his scrupulous antiquarian researches, 
and for every thing more especially relating to 
ancient genealogy, contained in these pages. To 
him, therefore, I must express my first and chief 
obligations. 

In the course of his inquiries he has received 
material assistance from Thomas Stapleton, jun. 
Esq. F.S.A. who has made very important collec- 
tions respecting the Anglo-Norman families. He 
has also to express his obligations to Mr. Cole, 
the intelligent gentleman now in charge of the 
Augmentation Office, through whose obliging per- 
mission access was obtained to the monastic records 
of that depository, although, at the time, they had 
scarcely recovered from the confusion into which 
they were thrown by the late unfortunate Fire in the 
adjoining Parliamentary buildings. 

These have been our latter coadjutors : but I 
must recur to those earlier friends, who, when I first 
undertook the work, encouraged and assisted me. 

To the Rev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A. then resi- 
dent at Bath, but now actively and most usefully 
employed in the metropolis, in the works of the 
Commission of Public Records, I was indebted for 



X PREFACE. 

very valuable hints and communications ; and to 
the venerated Father of Wiltshire Topography, 
Sir Richard Colt Hoare, of Stourhead, Bart, for 
various contributions, particularly for the drawings 
by the able antiquarian artist John Carter, from 
which some of the plates have been engraved. 

To my friend Robert Benson, Esq. Deputy Re- 
corder of Salisbury, I have also to express my obli- 
gations for such papers as he had collected relative 
to the Longespe" family ; and I take this opportu- 
nity of saying that it was this gentleman who com- 
municated to that most interesting and valuable 
work, the Excerpta Historica, the very curious 
poem relative to the Crusade of William Longesp£, 
from which I have made some lengthened extracts. 

To my friend C. W. Loscombe, Esq. I have been 
indebted for the loan of some rare and valuable 
books on monachism, &c. ; and to Mr. Hatcher, 
of Salisbury, for his contributions on the cathedral of 
Old Sarum, and the Gregorian liturgy. 

The drawing in the Frontispiece was by the pre- 
sent accomplished and amiable Mistress of the 
Mansion, the lady of H. F. Talbot, Esq. to whom 
I must add my acknowledgments for his courtesies 
and use of papers. 

These are the names of those to whom I am most 
indebted, with the exception of an early and 



PREFACE. XI 

valued friend, whom, in questions of Heraldry, at 
the commencement of my history, I consulted, 
living in hopes to gratify him by the last produc- 
tion of studies akin, in many respects, to his own. 

I allude to the late Rev. James Dallaway, F.S.A. 
Secretary to the Earl Marshal, and Vicar of Le- 
therhead, Surrey. # The reader will indulge me, as 
we are now about to part, perhaps for ever, if I 
should here speak more particularly of one of my 
oldest friends, the friend of my youth and my age. 

Of his death I received the first intelligence amid 
the scenes of our youthful studies, at Oxford, and 
at the time of the festivities on account of the 
Installation of the Duke of Wellington — 
when, after well nigh fifty years had passed away, 
I stood alone, in a corner of the grey quadrangle 
of New College. The morning sun was shining on 
the old dial, as in years past — I said to myself, 
" The friends of my youth, where are they ?" Echo 
did not reply, " Where are they ? " for one of them, 
the Senior Fellow of this college,^ the '■ ripe 

* Of whose garden-scenes, and interesting decorations, 
Mrs. Dallaway printed an elegant volume of etchings, for pri- 
vate distribution. 

f Philip Duncan, Esq. I was not Fellow of New College 
myself; but, having been educated at Winchester, this college 
was always connected with congenial feelings and early friends. 
I had been senior of the School, and senior on the roll for suc- 
cession to New College; but this year (1781) there was no 
vacancy. 



Xll PREFACE. 



scholar," and most estimable man, turned the corner 
near which I stood, thinking 



" of many friends, now scattered wide 

By many fates," 

and of more, 

" Now to dust 

Gone down/' 

When he informed me, speaking in this place of 

" days departed," that Dallaway — whom I hoped to 

gratify by these pages — poor Dallaway, had just been 

added to the long list of those departed before us. 

The clock struck eleven, — the well known sound 
of the organ was heard from within, — " Wickham's 
Peal was up," and I turned away — in tears ! 

I trust the reader will excuse this tribute to a 
deserving man, meriting well of letters ; and with 
his name, in connection with the history of an 
ancient religious establishment in my own county and 
neighbourhood, I resign, possibly for ever, my 
historical and antiquarian pen, hoping what I have 
recorded of the Parish of Bremhill, and of Stanley, 
Bradenstoke, and Lacock abbeys, may be considered 
as the author's contributions to the more splendid 
History of Wiltshire by my venerated friend 
Sir Richard Colt Hoare. 

Bremhill, April, 1835. 



Xlll 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Preface. — The Book of Laeock, p. v. 

Introductory Chapter ...... 1 

Lines to Lady Valletort . . . . .12 

William Longespe's Tomb in Salisbury Cathedral . 14 
Songs of Birds, the Wren, &c. .... 15 

The ancient Hymn, " Gloria in Excelsis " (App. p. lv) 18 

Chapter II. Ancestors and Family of Ela of Salisbury. 
— Walter le Ewrus — Edward of Domesday Book — 
Walter, the son of Edward — Last Visit of William the 
Conqueror to Salisbury — Patrick Earl of Salisbury — 
William his son and successor — Present state of Bra- 
denstoke Priory . . . . . .20 

Rents of the Shrievalty of Wiltshire ... 37 

Chapter III. The lineage of Edward of Salisbury — Not 
connected with the Norman Comtes d'Evreux — The 
family of Rosmar or Roumare — The Battle of Bren- 
mule — Family of Edward of Salisbury — Humphrey de 
Bohun, the Founder of Farley Priory — Old Sarum . 39 

Pedigree I. — The House of Salisbury ... 39 
Sonnet — Cathedral at Old Sarum .... 63 

Lines on Children gathering flowers in the Cathedral 

Churchyard of New Sarum . . . . .64? 

Pedigree II. — The House of Romara, with illustrative 

Remarks ........ 65 

Chapter IV. Ela of Salisbury, the Foundress of La- 
cock Abbey — Coronation of Richard Cceur de Lion — 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Page 
Ela's concealment in Normandy — her discovery by a 

Troubadour Knight, and delivery to King Richard . 80 

The Lay of Talbot the Troubadour .... 89* 
The Sisters, pretended and real, of Ela of Salisbury . 96 

Chapter V. Marriage of Ela of Salisbury to William 
Longespe" — His mother Fair Rosamund — Particulars 
of his career as Earl of Salisbury — Fate of Arthur Duke 
of Britany — Salisbury's campaigns in Flanders — Wars 
of the Barons, and Ratification of Magna Charta — 
Death of King John .100 

Pedigree III. — Descent of William Longespe\ Earl 
of Salisbury, and of Ela his Countess, from William 
Longespe^ Duke of Normandy .... 107 

Chapter VI. Foundation of the Cathedral of New 
Sarum — The Earl's Campaign in Gascony — His last 
perilous Voyage — Hubert de Burgh's insult to Ela, 
the Earl's resentment, and his Death . . . 124 

Dirge of William Longespe" ..... 142 
Will of William Longespe", Earl of Salisbury . . 144 
Pedigree IV. — The House of Longespe . . .147 
Descendants of the Countess Ela . . . 147 — 164 
Roger de Meulan, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, 

mistaken for a Longespe* 164 

Miscellaneous records of the name of Longespe* . 165 

Chapter VII. The widowhood of the Countess Ela — 
The Earldom of Salisbury — Shrievalty of Wiltshire — 
Seal of the Countess Ela — Her Son's Marriage — Foun- 
dation of the Priory of Hinton Charterhouse and the 
Nunnery of Lacock — Descriptive notices of Hinton 
Priory \ . .166 

Chapter VIII. The transactions relative to the foun- 
dation of Lacock Nunnery, and notices of the first 
Charters— Constantia de Legh, assistant to the foun- 



CONTENTS. XV 

Page 
dation — Alicia de Garinges the first Canoness — The 

Augustine Rule . , . . . . 180 

The Canonical Hours . . . . . .198 

Chapter IX. Contrast of the View at Old Sarum and 
the Forest of Chippenham — Ela retires to the society 
of the Nuns at Lacock — The reception of Novices, 
and Profession of a Nun 199 

Chapter X. Ela is constituted Abbess of Lacock — The 
ceremonies of the Election and Consecration of Ab- 
besses 214 

Chapter XI. The career of the second William Longe- 
spe* — His first Crusade, and Return — Claim to the 
Earldom of Salisbury — Interview with the Pope — His 
second Crusade, and quarrel with the Comte d'Artois . 221 

Assumption of the Cross ...... 235 

Chapter XII. The assault of Mansoura, and Death of 
William Longespe— Vision of the Abbess Ela, in her 
stall at Lacock . . , 237 

Arabic Account of the Battle 259 

Sir Robert de Vere, the Standard-bearer of William 

Longespe* 260 

Sir Alexander Giffard . . . . . . 263 

Andre' de Vitr€ . . . . . . .264- 

Pedigree V. — Family of Vitrei showing the maternal 
relations of Ela Foundress of Lacock, and their 
connections with the Dukes of Britany and Kings 
of England .265 

Chapter XIII. Affairs of Lacock Abbey during Ela's 
abbacy — Early fate of William Longespe the Third — 
Tournament at Blyth — Death of Ela — The Funeral 
of a Nun 268 

Chapter XIV. Affairs of the Abbey after the death of 
the Foundress Ela — Succession of Abbesses — Pro- 



XVI CONTENTS. 

Page 
perty of the Abbey in 1291 — The hearts of Amicia 

Countess of Devon, and Bishop Nicholas Longespe — 

Ecclesiastical Survey of 1535 278 

Pedigree of Temmes, the family of the last Abbess . 291 
Chapter XV. The Estates of the Abbey. Lacock 
— Notton — Hatherop — Woodmancote — Bishopstrow — 
Heddington — Shrewton — Chittern — Shorevvell — Wicles- 
cote — Albourn — Amesbury — Bristol — By tton and Han- 
ham — Calne — Chicklade — Chippenham — Cliff Pypard 
— Machinden — Slade — Trowbridge — Uffcote — Upham 
— Westbury 293 

Pedigree of Sherington 297 

Rectory of Lacock, 299. List of Vicars . . 301 

Chapter XVI. Dissolution of Religious Houses in 

England — Dispersion of the Nuns of Lacock . . 335 

Letter of the Abbess of Godstovv .... 338 

Letter of the Prior of Hinton 341 

Modern State of Lacock Abbey .... 347 
The Copy of Magna Charta at Lacock . . .357 

Visit of Queen Elizabeth to Lacock House . . 359 

The surrender of Lacock House in 1645 . . ib. 

The Nuns' Boiler 360 

Last Visit to Old Sarum and concluding Reflections . 361 

Final note on Stonehenge, &c 366 

Additions and Corrections 367. Lacock Cross . . 373 

APPENDIX. 

The Book of Lacock i 

Foundation Charter of Hinton Priory vi 

Abstract of the Cartulary of Lacock . . viii — li 
Deed relating to the tolls at Lacock fair 1306 . . lii 
The Gregorian Liturgy, in the Cathedral Library at 
Salisbury liii 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 



TO 



ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES 



OF 



L ACOCK NUNNERY, 



IN 

WILTSHIRE. 



Nearly half-way between the towns of Chippen- 
ham and Melksham, in a spacious and level mea- 
dow, surrounded by elms, at the bottom of which 
winds, with many devious inflections, the river 
Avon — appear the walls, and tall spiral chimnies, 
and arches hung with ivy, of the ancient Nunnery 
of Lacock. 5 * 

Many circumstances in the history of this reli- 
gious foundation are of peculiar interest, though it 
has not yet found a regular historian. The causes 
which have induced the present writer, at a late 
period of life, to take upon him that office, may 
be briefly related ; but a few words will be necessary, 

* The name is derived from Lea or Lay, a meadow, and 
Oche, water. 



"1 PRESENT APPEARANCE. 

previously, to give a general idea of the features 
and character of the scene. 

The Abbey is still in many parts entire, and 
stands conspicuously, in a spot formerly, it may be 
supposed, a solitary glade, between the ancient 
forests of Melksham and Chippenham, adjoining 
the vill or town of Lacock. This town, if it may 
be so called, was in the Saxon times of greater im- 
importance ; for it is said in an ancient record, 
quoted by Leland, that " Dunwallo founded three 
cities with three castles, Malmesbury, Tetrouburg 
(supposed to be Trowbridge), and Lacock."* 
We need not remark that what might then have 
been called cities or castles, would not be much 
in accordance with our ideas of such places in the 
present age. On a hill, rising over the present 
town, some tower or walls of defence might have 
been raised, to resist the desultory incursions of the 
Danes, the memory of which, except in .he uncer- 
tain records of the old chronicler, has perished. 

The Nunnery of Ela is far more authentic and in- 
teresting than the Castle of Dunwallo. In the year 
1232 Ela, only child of William Earl of Salisbury, and 
sole heiress of all her father's vast landed possessions 
in the county, laid the foundation of this religious 
house in her widowhood, in pious and affectionate 
remembrance of her husband William Longspee, in 
her right Earl of Sarum, who had then been dead six 

* " Dunwallo tres civitates condidit cum tribus castellis, scili- 
cet Malmesburg, Tetrouburg (nunc forsan Trouburgh in comit. 
Wiltshire), et Lacock." Collectanea, vol. I. p. °-25. 



TOMB OF WILLIAM LONGSFEE. 6 

years. This brave man was the eldest natural son of 
Henry the Second, by the lady whose transcendant 
beauty has become proverbial under the name of 
" Fair Rosamond." He laid the fourth stone of the 
beautiful Cathedral of New Sarum in the year 1220.* 
Six years afterwards, he was the first personage bu- 
ried within those walls, where his tomb now re- 
mains. He died after a short illness, at the Castle 
of Old Sarum, in 1 226, his death having been sup- 
posed to be by poison. 

On the same day of the week, and at the same 
hour in the day, on which he had been received at 
the entrance of the new Cathedral, in jubilant pro- 
cession, just eight weeks before,-^ namely, on Sun- 
day morning at nine o'clock, his body was con- 
veyed,^ with chaunted Litanies, to his last repose, 
after a life of heroic enterprise and virtue. He § 
who led the funeral chant, meeting the procession 
of death at the great western porch, has left an 
affecting account of the ceremonials in manuscript. 
The remains were deposited in an oak tomb, on 
which some of the painting and gilding is yet visible, 
though six centuries have passed since the remains 
were thus deposited. 

* The first stone was laid for Pope Honorius ; the second, 
for the Archbishop of Canterbury ; the third, by the Bishop of 
Salisbury ; the fourth by Longspee ; and the fifth by Ela, his 
Countess. 

f January 13. + March 9. 

§ William de Wanda, the Precentor. The MS. is in the 
Bishop's muniment-room, with other valuable records. 

B 2 



4 TOMB OF WILLIAM LONGSPEE. 

The tomb has been removed from its original 
situation. It is surmounted by the Warriors majestic 
figure, in armour, recumbent, with a border round the 
edge of the tomb of broken flowers.* His pointed 
shield, bearing six lioncels rampant, appears on his 
left side, with the long sword, extending to his 
spurs, from whence he was named, and which in youth 
was 'all his fortune.' His face is partly covered 
with a flat helmet ; the chain-mail, under his chin, is 
continued to his feet, with a surcoat, which seems 
to have been azure ; but there is neither name, title, 
or inscription. After the death and burial of her 
husband, Ela remained as custos of the Castle of Sa- 
rum, revering the memory of him on whom she had 
bestowed the amplest wealth — and having long medi- 
tated her pious design, the widowed mother of eight 
children, in this remote district of her hereditary 
domain, raised the walls which still remain to attest 
her affection and piety. She was probably led to 
select this spot, not only from a supposed revela- 
tion, but on account of its vicinity to the religious 
establishment of her ancestors at Bradenstoke, and 
that of Stanley, founded by her husband's father, in 
the parish of Breinhill, three miles distant. The first 
stone of the Nunnery of Lacock was laid in the year 

* Perhaps in allusion to his untimely end, which suggested 
the quaint epitaph given by M. Paris, 

" Flos comitum Gulielmus obit, stirps regia! Longus 

Ensis vaginam cacpit habere brevem." 
William, the flower of Earls, is gone, by death 
Cut down ! his Long Sword hath a shorter sheath. 



EPITAPH ON ELA IN LACOCK CLOISTERS. O 

1232, and that of the Priory of Hinton, near Bath 
(founded in pursuance of her husband's will), on 
the same day. Beneath the cloisters, which are 
still in the most perfect state of preservation, the 
stone that covers her remains, removed from the 
altar of the destroyed choir, is yet entire ; and the 
following inscription, which I give correctly I 
believe for the first time, may be imperfectly traced 
in the Monkish verse of the times, — 

Infra sunt defossa Elas venerabilis ossa, 
Quae dedit has sedes, sacras monialibus cedes, 
Abbatissa quidem, quse sancte vixit ibidem, 
Et comitissa Sarum, virtutum plena bonarum. 

TRANSLATION. 

Beneath, the venerable Ela's bones 
Are buried ; she, these scenes of sacred peace — 
Countess of Salisbury gave to the Nuns, 
Herself the Abbess here, and full of deeds 
Of Holy Charity.— 

Who does not involuntary add ? 

" Pray that she rest in peace ! " 

The situation and scene around naturally excite, 
unconnected with the religion she professed, such 
an inward prayer ; and the river itself, in this 
spot, seems to steal by, lingeringly, in union with 
such associations, and as if it sought to wander, 
from the tumult of the world, in search of loneliness 
and silence ; for, though its stealthy current — 

" Doth make no music with th' enamel'd stones 



D FOUNDERS OF MONASTIC HOUSES. 

yet, in the beautiful personification of the Poet of 
another Avon, 

" He gives a gentle kiss to every sedge 
He overtaketh in his pilgrimage, 
And so by many winding nooks he strays." 

We may here pause a moment to remark, that the 
character of the scenery and situations of ancient 
abbeys, may be considered as representing, in a 
great degree, the character and feelings of their 
founders. Generally the most secluded spots were 
chosen, in unison with disappointed hopes, or 
passions thrown back on the heart, or bereaved 
earthly affections, settling from painful into pensive 
religious recollections. 

Sometimes the most beautiful scenes of river and 
woodland were selected by those who sought reli- 
gious peace, after a life of tumultuous contention — 
as at Tintern, &c. 

Sore beat with storms, in glory's arduous way, 
Here might Ambition muse, a Pilgrim sage, 

And raptur'd see religion's evening ray 
Gild the calm walks of his reposing age. 

Warton. 

Penitence and remorse have sought to shroud 
themselves in the rudest recesses of the most deso- 
late rocks, as at the Chartreux — 

Per invias rupes, sonantes 

Inter aquas, nemorumque noctem. 

Gray. 



i 



CAUSES OF SUCH FOUNDATIONS. 7 

** Mid rocks, and sounding waters, and the night 
Of woods." 

Devoted to silence and abstraction, here the re- 
cluse, pressing to his heart the crucifix, day after 
day, might tell his beads, and by a life of privation 
thus hope to expiate offences not to be revealed. 

Sometimes these sacred and secluded structures 
were votive, as when raised in consequence of 
vows for success in some perilous enterprise, or on 
account of escape from imminent danger, as 
shipwreck, &c. It is not improbable that Ela 
performed the vows of her husband, who, on his 
return to England from Gascony, about two months 
before his death, was (at the time it was thought) 
miraculously preserved in a storm. 

Sometimes these abodes of religious peace were 
commemorative, as when affection sought a more 
intimate and spiritual communion with the depart- 
ed,^ and when daily religious rites seemed in a 
peculiar manner, from year to year, to hallow 
such undying and sacred remembrances. 

And who shall say, that such ideas are contrary 
to the purest feelings of piety ? when the solemn 
rites were performed as in the times of Ela, and 
the fumes of incense rose, and the harmony of 

* No candid and well-informed Christian will, for a moment, 
imagine that I could be inclined to say a word in favour of that 
Pagan Purgatory, which was introduced by the Church of Rome, 
when a traffic was made of the purest and best feelings of the 
heart. 



8 PIOUS REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEAD. 

choirs was heard blending with the sad memory of 
hours, and days, and years, to return no more, — 
might not the spirits of those we loved, for ever 
removed from earth, amid such scenes and with 
such associations, be thought to be almost present, 
breathing a benediction unseen, and as life stole 
away, and the time of departure for the living was 
at hand, to whisper — 

" Come, Sister, come?" — Pope. 

Thus a widowed mourner like Ela, in a convent 
founded by herself, and consecrated to such pious 
meditations, in a far purer and more exalted sense 
than that of the Poet of the Paraclete, might be 
described— having lost the father of her children — 

" In every hymn again his voice to hear." 

Eloisa to Abelard. 

We have spoken of the character of the slow and 
solitary Avon, winding through the seclusion of this 
scenery, at the bottom of a meadow, which is pro- 
bably the very meadow, of 20 acres, spoken of in 
Domesday Book. In the course of fourteen or 
fifteen miles, not less than three religious houses, 
besides this of Lacock, rose on or near the borders 
of the same retired stream. 

The traveller marks at a distance, over the woods, 
the high and lonely arch of Malmesbury Abbey, the 
august but melancholy mother, as she might be 
called, of these monastic seats on the retired margin 



BRADENSTOKE AND STANLEY ABBEYS. V 

of this river. The remains of Bradenstoke Abbey 
on the brow of the hill, overlooking the same 
river as it winds through the vale and pastures 
of Somerford and Christian Malford, may be dis- 
tinguished, with its massy buttresses and battle- 
ments, far off in the sunshine. Of Stanley scarce 
a wreck is visible. Lacock is still inhabited, the 
most entire of all inhabited monastic establishments 
in England, with its cloisters as fresh as if from the 
architect's hand but yesterday. Two of these abbeys, 
those of Bradenstoke and Stanley, I have elsewhere^ 
observed, were affiliated (if I might use the word) with 
the Nunnery of Lacock ; the Abbey of Bradenstoke 
being the foundation of Ela's Norman ancestors, and 
Stanley the joint foundation of the Empress Matilda 
and her son Henry the Second, the father of Ela's 
honoured and heroic husband. In the History of 
Bremhill, I have spoken of the Abbey of Stanley, 
and its removal from Loxwell, and of its early name 
Drownfont, abbatia de Drogonis fonte.-f- Of this 
singular and romantic spring on the summit of a hill 
in Pewsham forest, and the origin of the first struc- 
ture of Stanley Abbey, ascertained from various 
original and most curious documents never before 
published — I have there treated at large. The familv 
connection between the founders of Bradenstoke 

* History of Bremhill. 

f The abbey of the fount of Drogo. Drogo was Matilda's 
Chamberlain. Henry's grant runs thus : " Quas ego et mater 
mea dedimus et concessimus Drogoni, matris mese Camerario." 



10 GRAVE OF FAIR ROSAMOND. 

and Lacock, will form the subject of the next chap- 
ter, when we shall proceed to speak of Ela's Nor- 
man ancestors. In this introductory chapter I shall 
here only further remark, in reference to Ela, that 
when I last looked upon the dark marble stone 
under which her bones are deposited, it was on 
a moody day of the declining year 1831. As I 
stood over her grave, and thought of her youthful 
romantic history, and the revolutions of so many 
centuries, a gleam of pale sunshine stole out over the 
dark clusters of the ivy, and fell on the spot ; while at 
the same moment a wintry bird, unseen in the um- 
brage, piped one small note, which was succeeded with 
stillness more profound, when the gleam departed, 
and no answering sound was heard distant or near. 
I remembered some exquisite lines of Archbishop 
Markham on the grave of William Longspee's un- 
fortunate mother, Rosamond, in the Nunnery of 
Godstowe : 

Pallentes nocturna ciens campana sorores, 
Hinc matutinam ssepe monebat avem. 

" The bell 

That, calling the pale sisters from their cell, 
O'er the deep woods, from the lone turret heard, 
Awoke, when all was dark, the morning bird." 

This circumstance leads me now to mention the 
somewhat more singular yet pleasing associations 
which suggested the idea of writing the annals of 
those who have been, for six hundred years, re- 
moved from all the vicissitudes of earth. 



\ 



REASON OF WRITING. 11 

It was in the gloomiest evening of dark Octo- 
ber, when the papers of the day had brought the 
intelligence that the long debated Reform Bill had 
been rejected by a great majority of the Peers in 
Parliament ; when the most awful anticipations of the 
result were foreboded ; when all that was possible, 
soon, in the shapings of the imagination, became 
probable ; and all ih'atseemedprobable,'m the mind's 
gloomy creations, as soon turned to certainties — it 
was then, the thought could not be suppressed, 
that, as at this very time the kingdom was the 
scene of frequent and mysterious incendiarism, all 
England might become another burning Bristol. 
The family was assembled in the long gallery lead- 
ing to the room which is now the library, and which 
gallery, connecting the ancient apartments of the 
nuns, had lately been fitted up as a drawing-room. 
The winds of the night were heard without ; within, 
all were listening to the music of the harp and the 
song. A young lady of the mansion, now Vis- 
countess Valletort, with three other ladies, whose 
voices united in a singular harmony, one of them of 
of the church of Rome, and all of them highly cul- 
tivated in their delightful art, joined in singing the 
ancient sublime hymn, " Gloria in Excelsis ! " I could 
not but recollect that such voices, entirely those of 
females, had often been heard chanting together 
those very words, nearly six hundred years ago ; 
and these words were now most impressively sung 



12 VERSES TO A YOUNG LADY OF THE ABBEY. 

in the nineteenth century, in a room over the 
grave of the Foundress of the very walls, forgotten 
in the cloisters below. The winds of winter were 
no longer heard : alarm as to the state of the political 
world was forgotten, while the sacred song from 
united female voices, in the very scenes where such 
voices, to the very same words of the same Latin 
hymn, were heard so many ages ago — came over the 
heart, like an instant spell of peace. The sacred 
music was a beautiful composition, by the young 
lady now Viscountess Valletort. And at the moment, 
the thought arose, which was afterwards expressed in 
the following lines, published in a periodical of the 
time, in consequence of some brilliant verses ad- 
dressed to the same lady by one of the most popular 
living poets^ of Great Britain, who had inadvertently 
omitted, in the enumeration of personal and mental 
qualities, all mention of music. 



TO LADY VALLETORT, 

After hearing her sing " Gloria in Excehis," uoith three other 
young Ladies, at Lacock Abbey, Oct. 1831. 

SENT ON HER MARRIAGE. 

Fair inmate of these ivied walls, beneath 
Whose silent cloisters Ela sleeps in death — 
Let loftier bards, in rich and glowing lays, 
Thy gentleness, thy grace, thy virtues praise — 

* Mr. Moore. 






VERSES TO A YOUNG LADY OF THE ABBEY. 13 

Be mine, to breathe one prayer — when all rejoice — 
One parting prayer, still mindful of that voice, 
And musing on the sacred song, which stole, 
Sweet, as a spell of peace, upon the soul, 
In those same scenes, where once the chapel dim, 
Echoed the cloister 'd sisters' vesper- hymn. 

Live long ! Live happy ! tranquil thro' the strife, 
And the loud stir of this tumultuous life ! 

Live long ! Live happy ! and when many a day 
Has pass'd, in the heart's harmony, away ; 
When Eve's pale hand the gates of life shall close, 
And hush the landscape to its last repose — 
May sister-seraphs meet, with welcome song, 
And gently say, " Why have you stay'd so long ? " 

To these lines, it was my intention to have added 
merely a note on the foundress of this Abbey ; but, 
considering the numerous circumstances of historical 
and romantic interest in her life, I thought the events 
of that life, and the early history of the foundation, 
might be a work not unamusing to myself in the 
evening of my days, and perhaps not unacceptable 
to that part of the literary public which takes any 
interest in inquiries of this kind. 

Such was the origin of the proposed annals and 
ANTiauiTiEs of Lacock Abbey, which will be pur- 
sued in the next Chapter. 



14 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



WILLIAM LONGSPEE S TOMB IN SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. 

For the following accurate and interesting remarks on the 
tomb of the illustrious personage first buried in the new Ca- 
thedral, I am indebted to Mr. Hatcher, of Salisbury, a gentle- 
man well known for his general and extensive knowledge, and 
as the amanuensis and literary assistant of my predecessor, 
Archdeacon Coxe. 

" I have examined the monument very closely. The shield 
in the heraldic phrase bears Azure, 6 lioncels, 3, 2, and 1, Or. 
I observed the bright blue in several parts of it ; the gilding 
of the animals is visible in every little indentation. To make 
this more indubitable, the arms are repeated on the surcoat, 
and the colours and gilding under the shield are as fresh as if 
laid on within a twelvemonth. The ground under the figure 
appears to have been very minutely diapered. 

{C The fleurs-de-lis round the edge of the stone, appear too 
regular and marked to have been a mere fancy ornament. 
They were originally gilt, and I think the extreme edges 
were bordered with blue. Whether the ground was a bluish 
green, like the diapering, or whether it was red, I cannot 
decide, for both colours can be traced in the indentations. 
I suspect, however, the red was used as a ground to give lustre 
to the gold." 

There are two plates of this figure in Stothard's " Monu- 
mental Effigies ;" it has also been engraved in Sandford's 
Genealogical History of the Kings of England, in Dodsworth's 
Salisbury Cathedral, and Britton's Salisbury Cathedral. 



SONGS OF BIRDS WREN. 15 



WINTRY BIRD IN THE CLOISTERS. SONG OF THE WREN, &C. 

The circumstance of a small and lonely bird, in the interior 
of the ivied cloisters, piping out one disconsolate note where 
the hymns of the choir were once heard, will be thought too 
poetical by a rigid antiquary, but it was a fact, and to my 
mind, at the time, impressive. I need not say this bird was the 
wren. In winter it is found generally among masses of ivy, and 
never heard to utter a note from its retreat, unless there is a 
momentary gleam of sunshine, when it pipes out, not cheerfully 
but plaintively, one single note, whilst in May it has five or six 
most cheerful aud distinct notes ; its notes indeed, in richness 
and variety, in May, are nearly allied to those of the canary 
bird. 

The red-breast is seldom found in ivy in the winter, but 
often builds its nest there in the spring. Sunshine seems 
necessary as the exciting cause of melody to every bird of 
rural song. 

I may here relate a little affecting incident, which occurred 
whilst I was writing this note. A child, about eight years 
old, was cautioning, with great earnestness, another girl 
of the same age, " not to tell ! " She was so earnest in her 
entreaties, that Mrs. B., in her morning walk, overheard her, 
and asked " what was the secret to be concealed, for she ought 
not to conceal any thing ? " The poor girl said, " Madam, 
there is a robin's nest just by, and so low among the ivy, close 
to the church-yard walk, that the boys can reach it ! Last 
night one of the poor little birds fell out of its nest, so 1 told 
my mother, and she came and put it back, and I am afraid the 
boys should find the nest, and take away the little ones from 
poor robin ; so I begged Sally not to tell them of it ! " 

If this interesting incident, occurring whilst I was writing, 
maybe thought trifling, there are some readers who will pardon 
it. Whilst I am on the subject let me observe, that the winter 
and summer song of birds has been by no writer more faithfully 
described than by old Chaucer. 



16 SONGS OF BIRDS — NIGHTINGALE. 

The birdes that have left their song 
While they had suffered cold full strong, 
In weathers grylle,* and dark to sight, 
Ben in May, for the sunne bright, 
So glad, that they shewe in singing, 
That in their hearts is such liking, 
That they mote singe and ben light — 
Then dothe the nightingale her might — 
To maken noise and syngen blythe. 

The tradition of the red-breast and the wren, that they are 
sacred, and that it is a sin to hurt them, is fast wearing out in 
country parishes. The feelings universally connected with this 
idea arose from the belief, affecting in itself, of their strewing 
leaves over dead bodies found in the woods. 

" Call for the robin red-brest and the wren, 
Since o'er shady groves they hover, 
And with leaves and flowers cover 
The friendless bodies of unburied men. 

Webster. 

So poor Collins, over the grave of Fidele ! — 

" The red-breast oft at evening hours, 
Shall kindly lend his little aid, 
With gathered moss and scattered flowers, 
To deck the grave where thou art laid ! " 

I take the opportunity of adding a few more remarks on this 
not uninteresting rural subject. Of the character of the song 
of the nightingale, both Mr. Coleridge and Mr. Fox have 
spoken, as being lively and not melancholy. The passage from 
Chaucer is directly in point. 

But neither Coleridge, nor any professed ornithologist, if I 
recollect, have remarked what 1 have no hesitation in saying 



* " Grylle," is gloomy. Romance of the Rose, original by 
Abelard — so it appears by the most affecting letters of Eloise. 



SONGS OF BIRDS — BULLFINCHES. 17 

will be found a fact : the nightingale has no notes of its own, 
except its first short whistle, followed by— jug — jug — as if to 
prepare itself for its elaborate and rich song. It invariably 
opens, or, I should say, preludes its varied song with these 
two, its only native notes. It then, distinctly and literally, as 
a mocking-bird, pours out, with richer, louder, and more 
mellow tones, the identical notes, in rapid succession, of other 
singing birds — from those of the thrush, the blackbird, the 
yellow-hammer, the lark, the red-breast, the wren, &c, until 
it is tired. I state this confidently, on the authority of those 
who can instantly pronounce, from the song which they hear, 
what bird sings, and that — from early habits — invariably. Ad- 
ditional beauty and propriety is given, from this circumstance, 
to the celebrated Eclogue of Strada, in his Prolusions, in 
which a nightingale is described as imitating a varied modu- 
lation of a harp, till she falls dead on the strings. 

Another fact may be mentioned. The nightingale never 
sings without a twig, upon which it can rest its breast whilst it 
sings, as if to assist it in exerting all its powers ; and for this 
reason it always lays a twig across its nest, for the purpose 
of teaching its young to resort to the same assistance in their 
future song, which is the origin of the idea of its singing only 
when lacerated by a thorn. 

Whilst I am on the subject, I shall remark one more fact 
relative to singing birds. The bullfinch naturally has only 
one note, and that dull. To sing, it must have the regular 
instruction of art, and then it learns its varied song in cot- 
tagers' houses. It may be taught the perfect scale of eight 
notes, with the half and the whole notes, and modulate 
exactly any tunes, or bits of tunes, its rustic music-master 
teaches. 



18 



THE ANCIENT HYMN, " GLORIA IN EXCELSIS. 

This Hymn of the Primitive Church is, as it ought to be P 
from its almost apostolical antiquity, simplicity, and sublimity, 
retained in our Prayer Book. It was generally and universally 
sung, in all religious houses, long before the days of Ela's 
Choir, as may be seen in a manuscript in the Cathedral in Sa- 
lisbury, probably as old as the 9th century. In one of the co- 
pies of the Saxon Chronicle, in the Bodleian Library, it is said 
that the hymn " Gloria in Excelsis" was ordered to be sung 
festis diebus, by Pope* Telesphorus, anno 134*. 

* As an ingenious " Irish gentleman travelling in search of a 
religion" applies the word Pope to Clement, as if Pope-Cle- 
ment and Pope -Hildebrand, or peradventure Pope-Joan, were 
the same kind of characters as the Fathers of the primitive 
church, I feel compelled to make one remark on these said 
" Travels," because I think the fact I am about to introduce 
will best show the difference between apostolic Popery, and 
the Popery of " infallible unwritten traditions." 

When our Irish gentleman set out " in search of a religion,'" 
and had travelled as far as Germany, the country of Luther — 
it is a pity he had not gone to a celebrated city called Cologne 
on the Rhine ! There he would have found an instance of 
the triumph of " unwritten traditions/' which must completely 
have established his faith ; or if he did not quite believe the 
tradition, it would have gone some way to make him Protestant 
again. 

I will tell the story as briefly as I can : — About thirteen hun- 
dred years ago, as "unwritten tradition" truly attests, afetxyoung 
ladies, from the county of Cornwall, in England, embarked with 
their governess in a ship, to cross the sea into Britanny, called 
Armorica, where there was a colony of expatriated British, 
who had fled from the yoke of the Saxons. These ladies were 
of the highest blood in the country, daughters of aristocrats, — 
not more than eleven thousand — with their governess, called 
St. Ursula ! They were accompanied by some ladies' maids ! — 
not more than sixty thousand — all from Cornwall, a county 
at that time not so densely inhabited as it has been since. 
These ladies (on a fine morning we will suppose) went on board 
a ship to escape the terrible Saxons. We imagine a plaintive 
bard, or lyric Poet of the age, in love with them all, left on 
shore, sighing and singing — 

" Oh ! Ladies fair, where are you roaming?" 



\ 



THE ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS. 19 

However, the anchor is up, the plaintive Bard is left behind, 
and the eleven thousand noble virgins and sixty thousand virgin 
ladies" maids are on the ocean ! 

Alas ! they are driven out of their course. Where are they 
landed ? On the shores of the Red Sea ? No. Cast away, 
by St. Ursula, in the German Rhine ! They were now in the 
same calamitous situation as the poor flying fishes — flying to 
avoid the dolphins, and becoming a prey to the starved kites ! 
So these unfortunate ladies, as Lord Byron truly calls them, 
fled from the fierce Saxons to encounter the barbarous Huns ! 
" Un fortunate. ," indeed ! for how could eleven thousand virgins 
and sixty thousand virgin ladies' maids, with the old virgin, 
St. Ursula, at their head, defend themselves against the Huns ? 
They were preserved only by a miracle I It is indeed impos- 
sible to entertain any doubt of this miracle, for their bones are 
shown this day, and all " Good Catholics" worship them ! 

If any obstinate heretic, notwithstanding, should have some 
misgivings respecting the truth of the story, the following fact 
cannot fail to convince him, for it is attested by " tradition infal- 
lible" as the " written word of God ;' that after their poor bones 
had been buried in peace, for five or six hundred years, the bones 
of an infant, not born in wedlock, happened to be buried near 
them, and immediately such a clatter and noise every night was 
made, among the bones of the virgins, that prayers for their 
rest was offered up night and day ! Still the same disturbance 
and clatter among the female bones was heard, till the offend- 
ing cause was found out, when the bones of the intruding base- 
born were expelled, since which all has been peaceable in the 
charnel-house of St. Ursula at Cologne. 

When, many years ago, I visited this church, expressing 
some doubt as to the miracle, on looking up, I saw written in 
large characters on a board, an address to the Trinity, in these 
words : 

" Ut omnes pertinaces Hereticos longe arceatis." 

I need not say with what haste I left the Church of St. 
Ursula. 

As to the beautiful ancient Catholic Hymn, it were well if 
all who call themselves Christians — Catholic or Protestant — 
Sub-Lapsarians or Supra-Lapsarians — Calvinists or Arminians 
— Moravians or Methodists — Sweet Singers of Israel, or those 
whom the spirit moves to pray, but never, by any accident, 
moved to sing, might join in the hymn of Pope Telesphorus, 
" GLORY BE TO GOD ON HIGH! AND ON EARTH 
PEACE ! GOOD-WILL TOWARDS MEN." Amen. 



c 2 



20 



CHAPTER II. 

Ancestors and Family of Ela — Walter le Eurus — Edward of 
Domesday Book — Walter, the son of Edward — Last Visit 
of William the Conqueror to Salisbury — Reflections — Pa- 
trick Earl of Salisbury — William his son and successor- 
Present state of Bradenstoke Priory. 

Before we listen to the orisons of the sequestered 
Sisters of Lacock, it will be proper to devote our 
attention to the ancestors 'of their Foundress — Ed- 
ward of Domesday Book, and Walter his son, who 
founded that more ancient religious establishment 
of Bradenstoke, now called Broadstoke Abbey, in 
Wiltshire. 

About seventy years after the melancholy curfew 
first, from the Abbey of Malmesbury, 

" Toll'd the knell of parting day," 

this Priory was founded by Walter of Salisbury, the 
son of Edward the Sheriff of Wilts, who having 
married Sibilla de Cadurcis (or Chaworth), retired 
from the scenes of contention and licence, in the tur- 
bulent reign of Stephen, to the further and wildest 
district of his father's possessions, and raised that 
house of religious peace, where himself and his 
wife were buried, in one grave, and under one stone 



BOOK OF LACOCK. — ANCESTORS OF ELA. 21 

of black marble, without any memorial, leaving the 
completion of the endowment of the Priory, after 
his death, to his son, the grandfather of Ela. 

The remains of the Norman Abbey of Braden- 
stoke yet appear conspicuous, as we have described, 
on the edge of the long sweep of hills which form 
the north-western bounds of the ancient forest of 
Braden, from whence the Danes descended, like a 
storm, to lay waste the country about Chippenham 
and Lacock. 

For our knowledge of the ancestors of Ela, we 
are indebted to a singular work, called the Register 
of Lacock, preserved formerly at that Abbey, and 
now in the Cottonian collection of manuscripts. 
But to an historian the question arises, how far it 
is entitled to the claims of authentic veracity. 

This book informs us, that among the illustrious 
Norman soldiers, who followed the standard of their 
Duke in his perilous expedition to England, u there 
was a noble warrior, named Walterus le Eurus, 
Count of Rosmar, to whom King William gave 
the entire domain of Sarisburia and Ambresburia, 
in consideration of his probity." (Register of 
Lacock.) 

Admitting the authority of the document, the rea- 
der will remark, that King William gave the entire 
domain of Salisbury and Amesbury to this Norman 
Lord, it is said, " propter probitatem." Dugdale 
translates the word probitatem " valour ;" it may 
be considered as " approved service ;" but I am in- 



22 edward — Walter his son. 

clined to think it meant the most honourable fide- 
lity, as well as valour. 

We are further told, that " before" Walterus le 
Eurus came to England, he had a son named Ge- 
raldus* le Gros, Count de Rosmar, who had a son 
called William, the second Count de Rosmar le 
Meschyn, whose son William, the third Count de 
Rosmar, died without issue. " Afterwards" Wal- 
terus le Eurus had a son called Edward, " natione 
Anglus," who was Vice-comes, or Sheriff,' of Wilts, 
and whose son, named Walterus de Sarisburia, was 
the founder of Bradenstoke Priory. 

The first Walter, if we rely on this testimony, bore 
his banner at the eventful battle which placed his 
sovereign master on the throne. The successors of 
King William appear to have had the same reliance 
on the fidelity of his descendants. But now we 
advert to a singular fact. Only twenty years after- 
wards, the book of the great national survey, called 
Domesday Book, was completed ; and in this book 
we find not the name of Walter, but of Edward, 
Vice-comes of Wilts, in possession of far greater 
wealth in the county than any other Baron. He 
appears in possession, not of thirty-three ma- 
nors, as it is stated in Dugdale's Baronage, but of 
thirty-eight, in Wiltshire, — for the number and 

* Names given to the Normans, from particular circum- 
stances; so Humfridus de Bohun, "cum barba ;" William, " le 
meschyn," the avaricious j Geraldus, " le Gros," &c. 






EDWARD OF DOMESDAY BOOK. 23 

names may be ascertained from that most ancient 
and authentic document of the landed property of 
the kingdom, which remains a lasting monument 
of its sorrows and servitude. Nor is it in Wilt- 
shire alone that the name of Edward of Salis- 
bury occurs ; he was also the lord of other manors 
in the counties of Somerset, Dorset, Hants, Berks, 
Surrey, Middlesex, Hertford, and Buckingham. 

When Domesday Book was completed, we must 
consider old Walter dead, or returned to Nor- 
mandy, leaving his land and honours to his son, 
who succeeded to his English possessions, and the 
castle on the imperial mound of Old Sarum. Ad- 
mitting this statement, I shall first, as a matter of 
peculiar historical interest, connect this fact with 
the account in the Saxon Chronicle of the Con- 
queror s last visit to that city, # before he left his 
kingdom, never to return. 

William, after many agitations under his feverish 
Crown, was now, for the last time, preparing to 
leave the land he had subdued — to return to his 
native country — to engage again in warfare, though 
the marks of age were gathering on his intrepid 
but thoughtful brow. He had completed the great 
national survey, and safely deposited this most 
important document at Winchester. He returned 
to Westminster ; and from thence, before he em- 
barked for the last time to Normandy, he came, 
Aug. 1, 1086, the year before his death, to " Seare- 

* See Dr. Ingram's admirable translation of the Saxon Chro- 
nicle. 

c 4 



24 WILLIAM THE CONGLUEROR AT SALISBURY. 

byrig," now Old Sarum, the seat and the citadel of 
" Edward the Sheriff." 

Dwelling for a moment on a circumstance scarcely 
noticed by historians in general, let us think of the 
occasion, and the spot, where this proud assem- 
blage were met — the castle,* the rising cathedral^ 
the city on this aerial eminence — the Norman 
banner floating above the clouds from the citadel 
— the assembly of all the Barons, abbats, and pre- 
lates, with their crosses and crosiers, renewing 
here their oaths of allegiance. The portly Con- 
queror stands before us— his sword drawn, his hel- 
met up, his eye vigilant and searching, his counte- 
nance commanding and stern, but worn by age and 
thought : and who is that, in the grace of early 
manhood, next to the mild and venerable Osmond, 
who had exchanged his sword for the crosier? 
— Edward of Salisbury, " born in England ! " 
When we think we behold this concourse of the 
Norman chivalry — the Earls and Barons in arms- — 
William standing thoughtful in front, while Hum- 
phridus de Bohun, " cum barba"*\- (to whom he had 
given Clarendon Forest, and whose son married 
Edward's daughter,) advances to swear allegiance on 

* Seventeen castles are enumerated as built by the Conque- 
ror ; but nothing is said of the Castle at Salisbury. That it 
existed at the time there can be no doubt ; for the Prebend of 
Stratford, more ancient than the Conquest, in the oldest deeds, 
is called " Stratford sub Castro." 

-j- The first of the Bohuns had the name of Humphridus cum 
Burba ! As it will be seen in the tapestry of Bayeux, the 
Normans generally were shaved, except on the upper lip. 






WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR AT SALISBURY. 25 

his knees, &c. — the picture seems to rise in our 
view as august as interesting, and wants no colours 
of poetical imagination. 

The plain 6 Saxon Chronicle' shall speak for itself. 
On this day, on this lofty and castellated mound, "All 
the landsmen, that were of any account, over all 
England, became this man's vassals, and they all 
bowed themselves before him, and became his 
men, and swore to him oaths of allegiance that 
they would, against all other men, be faithful to 
him." (Saxon Chronicle.) 

Increasing anxieties, as well as years, had now 
begun to bow the reluctant Conqueror. Harassed 
by enemies within and without his kingdom ; — the 
great Thanes, the most powerful British subjects 
whom he sought to conciliate (Waltheolf and Ed- 
wyn), " flying out," as the Saxon Chronicle expresses 
their becoming voluntary outlaws ; — the whole 
nation, as it were, under a cloud of the wrath of 
Heaven, and visited by famine, pestilence, and 
storm, from the year 1084 to 1086 ; — we need not 
wonder that the humble Chronicler should describe 
him at this time, as " very stern and also hot ! " 
Fancy might think she recognised a gentler trait 
of nature in the harsh features of his stern and 
moody character ; and in this light, the affecting 
circumstance to which I allude, would be worthy 
Shakspeare, for (continues the Saxon Chronicle) 
although " very stern and also hot," " he loved the 
tall deer, as if he were their father." 



26 LAST DAYS OF WILLIAM THE CONGLUEROR. 

The plain Chronicler, whoever he was, distinctly 
informs us, " he often looked on him, and spent 
some time in his court ;" and now, in his old age, 
encompassed by enemies — not knowing whom to 
trust, almost estranged from his kind — his wife, 
on whom all that was gentle in his nature, reposed, 
being dead — having no object of sympathy in the 
world, it is no wonder he loved the " tall deer" as a 
father. 

The monk Matthew Paris sets his feelings, at 
this time, in a different point of view — " Ferus, 
feras amabat, quasi Pater ferarum!" and com- 
plains that divine service was interrupted by the 
hares ! The same image is repeated by succeed- 
ing histories ; but are hares or " tall deer" as fero- 
cious as he is described? 

Be the meaning as it may, it is interesting at this 
time to contemplate the great victor, again and for 
the last time, in his shortening days, exacting 
allegiance from his Barons, among whom stood the 
youthful ancestor of Ela — for who can doubt his 
being present at the chief city in the county of 
which he was Sheriff, and where his castle stood, 
when all the Barons " of any account," were 
there ? Before their liege Lord, all swore again to 
be " his men," while William vowed by his usual 
oath, " the resurrection and the throne of God," * 

* Rufus's usual oath was " the foot of St. Luke." 



DEATH OF WILLIAM THE CONQ,UEROR. 27 

having thus secured all England, " to take ven- 
geance on his insulting enemies beyond the sea."* 

He died the next year in his native land — how 
miserably, let historians say — acknowledging with 
his last breath, the injustice of his claim to the 
throne he had filled, and penitent for the woes he 
had caused. 

We pass to those who held wealth and state from 
his bounty. We have described Edward of Salis- 
bury. His son, Walter, was married to Sibilla de 
Cadurcis ; of whom was born Patricius, the first Earl 
of Salisbury.-^ This Walter, as we have said, founded 
the priory of Bradenstoke, and placed there Regular 
Canons " to serve God for ever !" as the Charter in- 
forms us. After the death of his wife, he took the 
tonsure and habit of the Canons ; and " here their 
bodies were buried in the same grave near the chan- 
cel,;}; and whose souls rest in heaven, "§ quoth the 

* The anecdote of the King of France is well known, 
f He was created Earl of Salisbury by Matilda, in con- 
sequence of the part he took with her against Stephen. 

+ " Presbiterium" in the original ; so called because the 
priests were alone allowed to enter, and secular persons for- 
bidden, — 

Cancello laicos prohibet scriptura sedere, 
Ne sibi presumant Christi secreta videre. 

The stone stalls for the priests remain on the south side of 
many ancient chancels. 

§ Under the pavement in the Chapter House of Lanthony 
Abbey, near Gloucester, was found a stone with the name 
«' Cadurcis ;' : and there the 3d, 4th, 5th, and 6th Humphrey 



28 WALTER OF SALISBURY. 

Register of Lacock. " Amen/' quoth the Histo- 
rian of Lacock Nunnery. 

Patrick, the son of Walter, distinguished by he- 
reditary fidelity, nobly supported Matilda against 
Stephen. The whole kingdom was at this time a 
prey to anarchy; and in 1142, his father, Walter 
the son of Edward, retired from the storm of the 
times — from scenes of rapine and violence — to the 
lonely woods of Bradenstoke, with feelings such as 
Cowper describes, 

" Oh ! for a lodge in some vast wilderness, 
Some boundless contiguity of shade, 
Where rumour of oppression and deceit, 
Of unsuccessful or successful wars, 
Might never reach me more ! My ear is pain'd, 
My heart is sick of every day's report 
Of outrage and of wrong." 

With all his immense possessions, he lived after 
the death of her he loved, a melancholy monk, 
renouncing, according to the vows of his order, all 
individual property, though so rich in inheritances ; 
and under such bereavement of mind, as from the 
circumstances recorded, we may imagine, — he chose 
this solitary retreat, in which to die in peace, far 
from the noise and strife of a savage and conten- 
tious age, nursing his devotional and doubtless his 
tenderest feelings, till buried in the same grave with 

de Bohuns were buried, as may be seen in the Collectanea 
Topographica et Genealogica, p. 168. 



INFLECTIONS. 29 

her he loved and mourned. He married a lady of 
that family from which was descended the beauti- 
ful girl who awakened the first feelings of passion 
in the breast of the youthful Byron, called by him 
" The last scion of an ancient race/' and of whom 
he has written in language of such pure affection. 
If Beauty be hereditary, (and who can say it is not ?) 
from all we know of the life of Walter, he might 
have been as impassioned and romantic as Byron, 
though without the faculties of a poet, to render his 
affections as deathless as his song. Walter of Sarum 
and Sibilla Chaworth were buried in one grave. 

No inscription or memorial of any kind has been 
traced ; but various unknown bodies, in unknown 
graves, have at different periods been discovered. 
The ashes of the son of Edward of Salisbury and 
of his wife, on whom so many possessions were 
bestowed, are scattered to the winds, and the 
remains of this monastic residence, overlooking the 
vale of Avon, only attest that "such things were!'* 
Can we be insensible to the thought, that these 
great Lords of a conquered country, were actuated 
by a sense of lying under the judgment of God^ 
when they raised in every part of the kingdom so 
many houses of religion, which they doubtless 
deemed expiatory ? 

Let the reader reflect on a few singular facts. 
The Conqueror himself died, forsaken of all whom 
he had enriched — his body, for a time, was denied a 
spot of rest — his eldest son went to the grave, sight- 



30 PATRICK EARL OF SALISBURY. 

less and broken-hearted. His second son, the heir 
to his throne, perished, untimely, by the glance of an 
arrow in the Forest, as in the same place, reserved 
for his animals of the chase, did another son. 

The only son of Henry the First, and many of the 
youthful nobility of the realm, perished together, in 
the same disastrous shipwreck. 

Henry the Second felt on his death-bed, 

" How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is 

To have a thankless child ;" 

having only his youngest natural son, # at that awful 
hour, to console him. His lawful son Richard, on 
his return from the Crusades, was for some time 
a captive m a foreign land, and died by an acci- 
dental wound. John laid his crown at the foot of 
a priest, was involved through life in hopeless con- 
tests, and died deserted. 

Earl Patrick, the son and heir of Walter, was in- 
humanly murdered in a foreign land, when return- 
ing from a religious pilgrimage. He was Lieute- 
nant for King Henry the Second in Guienne (or 
Acquitaine) ; and in 1167, when on his return from 
the shrine of St. James in Galitia, was slain by 
Guy de Lusignan. His body was interred in the 
church of St. Hilary in Poictou ; and Queen Alia- 
nor (whose champion and defender he had been) 
procured, in consequence, from the King her hus- 
band, to join with her in bestowing upon that 
church, all their customs arising in Benai. King 

* Brother of Longspe, by the same unfortunate mother. 



1 J 31. 



S* .'I 







/y,// ^r// /4,/' « /////<- ^ - ^^J,;,^,/,'/, 



, ' ■ ■■■■. 



WILLIAM EARL OF SALISBURY. 31 

Henry afterwards drove Guy de Lusignan out of 
Poictou, and he took refuge in the army of the 
Crusaders. 

Patrick, the faithful follower of the standard of 
Matilda, in her arduous struggles in favour of her 
youthful son for the crown of England, was twice 
married. By his last wife Ela, daughter of the 
Count de Ponthieu, and widow of Earl Warren, 
he had William Earl of Salisbury, father of Ela of 
Lacock, and three other sons, mentioned by their 
brother in his Confirmation-charter to Bradenstoke 
Priory. Patrick was at that time dead. The other 
brothers of Earl William were Walter and Philip. 
William married Alianor de Viteri, daughter of 
Tirrel de Mainers.* She died in 1194; and he 
followed to the tomb in 1196: both were buried 
at Bradenstoke, under a marble near the porch. 
They left one. daughter, Ela, foundress of the nun- 
nery of which we are now about to speak more 
particularly, almost a child. 

We shall here recapitulate, that the more ancient 
Priory of Bradenstoke was founded, in 1142, for re- 
ligious of the order of Augustine or Black Ca- 
nons, in honour, as most houses of the kind were 
built, of the " Blessed Virgin," by Walter, son of 
Edward of Salisbury. 

On the valuation taken of this Priory, shortly be- 
fore its dissolution, its total income amounted to 
^270. 10s. 8d. and its net revenue, after deduc- 

* The first name is mentioned in the Book of Lacock. and 
the second added in Dugdale's Baronage. 



32 BRADENSTOKE PRIORY. 

tions, to ^212. 19s. 3d. It was granted in ex- 
change to Richard Pexel 38 Henry VIII.* 

From the heirs of Pexel, or Pecsall, it came by 
purchase into the possession of Methuens, of Cor- 
sham. In the History of Bremhill, I have noticed 
the singular circumstance of the preservation of a 
picture of the Virgin, uninjured, in the very place 
which has undergone, through so many years, so 
many eventful changes. My friend Paul Methuen, 
Esq. of Corsham House, in the neighbourhood, has 
placed this picture, in a Protestant age and coun- 
try, among his splendid collection of works of art, 
beyond the chance of injury, unless the despotism 
of democracy should sweep away pictures, title- 
deeds^ houses, and lands together ! Its preserva- 
tion, through such various changes, might be marked 
as miraculous, by a " traveller in search of a reli- 
gion ! !" But alas! it could not protect the grave 
of the founder, or his possessions, from the ruth- 
less hand of Henry. 

* William Snow, first Dean of Bristol, was last Prior of this 
Convent ; and, with thirteen monks, surrendered the same 8th 
January 1539, 30th Henry VIII., and had a pension ofg£60 
per annum assigned him. Anno 1553, here remained in charge 
=£2 in fees — ^13. 6s. Sd. in annuities — and these pensions, to 
James Cove, canon, £6. 135. id. ; Edward Bruer, ^5. 6s. 8d.; 
Richard Thompson, £5. 6s. 8d. ; Ralf Styth, £5. 6s. Sd. 
(married) ; James Wykeman, £&4. 13s. id. (married) ; Robert 
Ware, £i. 13s. id. ; John Playsterer, £2 (married); John 
Hancocke, £2; and to Thomas Baker, &g2 (married). (From 
Willis's Abbies.) 



BRADENSTOKE PRIORY. 33 

As Walter of Salisbury, and Sibilla de Cadurcis, 
were here buried in one grave, so here also, in 
one grave, were laid the bodies of William Earl 
of Salisbury and his Countess Alianor, father and 
mother of Ela, the foundress of Lacock nunnery. 
All the traces of a church or chapel at Bradenstoke 
have been long obliterated ; but the site has been 
ascertained from Norman tiles and skeletons occa- 
sionally disinterred. Within these few years, on 
the removal of the ground, nearly twenty skele- 
tons were found, two of which only were in stone 
coffins, and one appeared as if the corpse had 
been completely cased in leather/* 

No other relic, however, has been discovered 
which might serve to identify the sepultures of 
the Founders or their immediate descendants, who 
were laid here, so long ago, in the presumed security 
of consecrated earth. The bones of Walter of 
Salisbury and his beloved wife, and those of the 
father and mother of Ela, have been mingled with 
the common dust ; as have those of the youngest 
daughter of Ela, Petronilla, who was here buried ; 
as here also, probably from feelings of peculiar 
devotional respect, was the heart of Ela's youngest 
son Stephen, by marriage Earl of Ulster, his body 
having been interred at Lacock. 

We may conclude this account of the Priory of 

* It is remarkable that the bones of fair Rosamond, mother 
of Longspe", at Godstow nunnery, near Oxford, were also found 
cased in leather. 



34 BRADENSTOKE PRIORY. 

Bradenstoke, by a more particular description of the 
building as it now appears, and a general sketch 
of the scenery from the spot. 

The windows, buttresses, and lofty parapet, with 
one square turret on the north, appear far distant 
along almost the whole extent of the vale of the 
Avon. In front, and on either side, the horizon is 
bounded by the hazy appearance at times of the 
Cambrian hills beyond the Severn. Parts of So- 
merset, Berkshire, Gloucestershire, on to the woods 
of Lord Bathurst, lie beneath, as in a map. 

The picturesque park of Draycot is distinguished 
by a rising knoll of woods in front ; and immediately 
on the right, as a foreground to the landscape, 
another eminence hangs, dark with oak, almost 
under our feet ; while the long course of the rural 
Avon is seen winding from village to village, far 
below, through its green and level pastures. 

The front of the remaining building, which is 
used as a farm-house, is not materially altered. Se- 
micircular arches, entirely relieved from the wall 3 
connect the buttresses, and above them appear three 
narrow pointed windows. On the square northern 
turret grows an ancient thorn, 1 * which I find repre- 
sented in the view engraved by S. and N. Buck in 
1732. Not far distant, on the level green, are two 
large fish-ponds ; one, with the spring perpetually 
running, which I have no doubt from the transpa- 
rent clearness, and from its always flowing in the 
dryest season, gave an idea of sacrcdness to the spot. 
* It is called to this day, by the inhabitants, the holy thorn. 



BRADENSTOKE PRIORY. 35 

Not far distant, inclosed within the area of several 
earthern mounds, is a circular beacon hill, whose 
fires have often gleamed over a vast extent of coun- 
try, from the time probably of the Danes, or earlier. 

On entering the house, the visitor passes under a 
narrow groined vault, and, ascending a small stone 
staircase, enters a room which probably was that of 
the Prior. In this room is a chimney-piece of 
stone, richly carved and painted, with five plain 
shields in the centre of quatrefoils ; the lower part 
being beautifully worked in lozenged panels, con- 
taining, raised on foliage, these four golden letters, 
" W. A. L. S." the import of which must be left to 
future explanation. This beautiful chimney-piece, 
which is crowned by an elegant cornice of leaves 
and a central bracket, is of the age of Henry VI-* 

The principal apartment is a large and lofty room, 
retaining no other ancient features except the stone 
windows, and in the centre of the ceiling a single 
painted boss, containing a shield inscribed with the 
letter " S." perhaps the initial of Snow the last Prior, 
within a wreath of grapes and vine leaves. 

In this room was preserved uninjured, through 
so many changes of owners and events, that paper- 
painting of the Virgin, to whom the Priory was 
dedicated, which has been before mentioned, "f- 

* See the monument of Lady Tiptoft, in Gough's Sepulchral 
Monuments, vol. ii. pi. xlviii. 
t History of Bremhill. 

d2 



36 BRADENSTOKE PRIORY. 

On returning from these silent and ancient halls 
to the light, the scene I have described seems more 
beautiful, sweeping far away, with masses of shade 
and sunshine, woods, and river, and the smoke of 
distant towns and villages. The most interesting 
object in sight, as far as human art is concerned, 
presenting itself, scarcely discerned, among the far- 
retiring trees, is Malmesbury Abbey, the majestic 
but mournful mother, as I have described, of the 
religious houses now desolate near the same stream. 

Nothing can be conceived more wretched in ap- 
pearance than the present village, which, as if in 
ludicrous contrast with these beauties of rural sce- 
nery, and these august remains, is called " Clack ! " 
The ancient name of the manor was " Clake." 
It contains some straggling houses, and three for- 
lorn-looking brick edifices, of the peculiar architec- 
ture of the Meeting- Houses for some religious 
denomination or other, which have succeeded the 
stately relics of elder piety. 

About eight or nine years ago, in consequence 
of the discovery of the stone coffins of which we 
have spoken, I visited Bradenstoke, in company 
with the present possessor. The aera of the march 
of intellect and reform had not then commenced. 
Whether the storm, 

'* Hush'd in grim repose/' 

may yet arise, to sweep to earth the majestic struc- 
tures in which the services of the mild hierarchy 



BRADENSTOKE PRIORY. 37 

of the scriptural Church of England are now per- 
formed, as it has long since left to devastation and 
silence the majestic monuments of a religion far 
less pure, will perhaps be determined when our grey- 
heads are forgotten in the dust, perhaps before that 
time ! 

This account is concluded with every prayer for 
their preservation and inviolability. I shall only 
add, as somewhat remarkable facts, that the last 
Prior of Bradenstoke was the first Dean of the new 
Protestant Cathedral of Bristol ; and that Bishop 
Jewel, author of the celebrated " Apology for the 
Church of England," preached his last sermon at 
Lacock,^ near the grave of Ela, who had contri- 
buted to the foundation of that beautiful cathedral, 
over which that most distinguished Protestant 
Bishop presided, when its roofs resounded to purer 
services and more sublime and affecting music. 



RENTS OF THE SHRIEVALTY OF WILTSHIRE. 

We have already noticed in p. 22, the manors possessed by 
Edward of Salisbury, as recorded in Domesday Book -, but as 

* Having promised to preach at Lacock, in Wiltshire, a 
gentleman who met him observing him to be very ill, by his 
looks, advised him to return home, &c. but he would not be 
persuaded, but went thither and preached his last sermon, 
out of the fifth of the Galatians, " Watch in the spirit, &c.'' 
when he did not finish without great labour and difficulty. — 
Life of Bishop Jewel. 



38 SHRIEVALTY OF WILTSHIRE. 

the very curious enumeration of his official rents in kind, given 
in the same record, was not there noticed, I shall here extract 
it, having first prefixed the following illustrative remarks by 
my lamented friend the late Rev. James Dallaway : 

" No Comes is mentioned in the Wiltshire Survey in Domes- 
day, but there is Edwardus Sarisburiensis, who held the co- 
mitatus : he is there styled, by an insertion above his name, 
Vice-Comes, although he held the third penny and the pur- 
veyance in Fee-farm only. That he was merely the King's 
Tenant in Chief, is evident from the last line of the first para- 
graph in which the purveyance in kind is stated : <c quando 
propositis Firma deficit, necesse est Edwardo restaurare de 
suo.' 

" The King retained many of the counties (of which Wilts 
was one) in his own hands, and granted a Fee-farm to deputies, 
who were sometimes called Vice-comites, but not always." 

Now for the yearly Rents of Edward as Vice-comes or Shire- 
Reeve. They were: " 130 porkers and 32 bacon-hogs 5 2 
bushels and two pecks* of bread-corn (frumentum), and the 
same of beer-corn (brasium) ; 5 bushels and 1 peck of oats ; 
16 pottles of honey, or 16 shillings instead; 480 hens ; 1600 
eggs; 100 cheeses ; 52 lambs; 140 fleeces; corn-rents (blad. 
annonce) 162 acres, and also the value of 40/. within the Reeve- 
land, and what he receives thence. When the farm fails with 
the bailiffs, then it is incumbent upon Edward to supply it from 
his own store." 

This is important in one view, as illustrating the nature of 
Tithes taken in kind. » 

The pastor had— One egg, one hen, out of every ten ; and it 
is remarkable, that in Ela's foundation charter, the rights to 
the Rector are preserved — but in all the subsequent institu- 
tions, Lacock is called a Vicarage. 

* Eight sextarii. A sextarius is explained by Ducange as 
the 16th part of the modius or bushel ; equal to the old Eng- 
lish pottle, or two quarts. 



Page 39. 



Robert fitz-Girold, 
de Roumare. 



William Earl of 
Lincoln. See 
Pedigree II, 
p. 65. 



T 

Edward or 
Domesday 1 
Vital. 

I 

Walter of 

King Stepher 
Niger, p. 808 
stoke, and wa 



Matilda, —Patrick of Salisbury^ ]126, of 
theCoun- Stephen's treaty with S e Perche • 
tess. Cart. Duke of Normandy 1 153^5 to Ro- 
de Bra- ated Earl of Salisbury fcomte de 
denstoke. EmpressMaud; Earlll6if ore 1152. 

Nig. ; slain March 27, \ ea l. 

bur. at Poitiers. 



William Earl OF-pAlianor, dau. <\adenstoke 



Salisbury ; died 
April 17,1196; bu. 
at Bradenstoke. 



widow 1184 ofL flr #. 
living 1231 ; d£> Braden- 
at the abbey of 



ELA, COUNTESS OF SALI 



FOUNDRESS OF LACOCK AI 



imains, 



4- 

(See Pedigree IV. p. 149 1 coheir of 



39 



CHAPTER III. 

The lineage of Edward of Salisbury — Not connected with 
the Norman Comtes d'Evreux — The family of Rosmar or 
Romare — The Battle of Brennevill — Family of Edward of 
Salisbury — Humphrey de Bohun, the Founder of Farley 
Priory — Old Sarum. 

Having spoken of Walter, Edward, Walter, Pa- 
trick, ancestors of William Earl of Salisbury, the 
father of Ela, I should wish, before we proceed 
further, to step back a little, in order to investi- 
gate the statements of the Book of Lacock, relative 
to the origin of this family ; and also the further 
statements, which, though neither asserted by the 
Book of Lacock, nor countenanced by Dugdale, has 
been generally adopted by the writers who have 
mentioned the first Earls of Salisbury, — that their 
surname was Devereux, and that they were a branch 
of the Norman Counts of Evreux. 

The person styled Walter le Ewrus, Earl of Ros- 
mar, in the Book of Lacock, has been fixed upon by 
some of those writers as the ancestor of all the fami- 
lies of Devereux that have flourished in England, 
and he has been attached by them to the princely 
house of Evreux in Normandy, as the fourth and 
youngest son of Robert Comte d'Evreux, Arch- 
bishop of Rouen. By this assumption, an origin 
of the first rank was attained ; for the Comtes 



PEDIGRE1 ! 
HOUSE OF SALISBURY. 

'.7,1/rr. 8n PUIM 






T 

n Earl of 



Vital. 



Boot, livinn 1119. Ordrrum 






,. ■ Baron II 16, Hnrnr'i Liirr 
stoke, and was then- bllriesi. Lib. ilr l.antrl. 



\ I . | 






tem.Cart. I)uk.- of 






1,1174. Rro. . 








Prom whom the s(. ■>.. 



Of But- 



William K>m oi - . 

Sai i-ih n i died ; 

April 17. i il.n.l i., i: 



■ 
1 1 1 bar. ' ■ 



tart, itr BnimuMtt. Hi- 

■ i-M. Iirotlu i 


















I 



40 THE COMTES D'EVREUX. 

d'Evreux were themselves a younger branch of the 
sovereign house of Normandy ; the Archbishop 
being a younger brother of Duke Richard II. and 
great-uncle to King William the Conqueror. 

The Archbishop, by his " wife, or rather concu- 
bine, Herleva," had three sons, whose identity is 
fully proved by records ; namely, Richard Comte 
d'Evreux, his successor; Raoul, Lord of Gace and 
Varenguebec, Constable of Normandy, and one of 
the guardians of the future Conqueror ; and Wil- 
liam, who married the widow of Robert Grand- 
mesnil. " To these," says Pere Anselme, " some 
authors have added Walter de Rosmar, whom thev 
make the ancestor of the Earls of Salisbury and 
Essex, in England ; " but that eminent genealogist, 
whose researches were at once deep and comprehen- 
sive, had found nothing further to say of Walter 
than that he was so placed by " some" former writers, 
of whom he names only M. le Brasseur, the author 
of a History of the Comte* d'Evreux, which had 
then been recently published.* Nor, on recurring 
to the volume of M. le Brasseur, do we find that 
he had any better authority ; but he appears to have 

* The words of Pere Anselme are " 4. Gautier de Rosmar 
est mis ici par quelques auteurs, (M. le Brasseur hist, du comte* 
d'Evreux en 1722) qui le font le chef des seigneurs de Salis- 
bury en Angleterre, depuis comtes d'Essex ; mais ils descen- 
ded de Guillaume dit Longue epee, batard du roi Henry II. ; 
& les Comtes d'Essex de Guillaume dit d'Evreux, vivant en 
1223." Histoire Genealogique et Chronol. des Pairs de France, 
fol 1726, vol.11, p 478. 



FAMILIES OF DEVEREUX. 41 

readily taken the assertion upon trusty* from some 
unnamed English writer, for the sake of enlivening 
his work by the introduction of anecdotes of the 
English Earls of Essex, who flourished more than 
four centuries after ! 

Having thus consulted the best French peerage 
in vain, we are turned back to our English genea- 
logists, and have first to inquire upon what authority 
they have asserted that Walter de Rosmar was 
a cadet of the Counts of Evreux. It is an ominous 
circumstance, at the commencement of the inquiry, 
that our standard English peerage, the Baronage 
of Dugdale, is not found among the supporters 
of this assertion. That judicious writer, who pro- 
ceeded only upon evidence and not upon con- 
jecture, has, under the title of Salisbury, merely 
transcribed the narrative of the Book of Lacock ; 
and under the family of Devereux (Earl of Es- 
sex and Viscount Hereford), he claims for it no 
lineage from the Norman Counts of Evreux, but 
merely speaks of the surname as having been 
derived from that town, observing that "Of this 
family, which had their surname from Evreux 
a town of note in Normandy, there were divers 
generations here in England before they became 
Peers of the realm." -f~ Nor, at this place, when he 
has arrived at the real Devereuxs, does Dugdale 
allude to any supposition that the early Earls of 

* Hist, du Comt6 d'Evreux, pp. 81, 323. 
\ The earliest Devereux's mentioned by Dugdale, are Regi- 
nald son of Robert de Ebrois, who occurs in the Pipe Roll 3i 



42 FAMILIES OF DEVEREUX. 

Salisbury were of the same stock ; nor to any family 
of Devereux having descended from the Earls of 
Salisbury. # But it has been in some more recent 
Peerage that the two accounts by Dugdale of the 
houses of Salisbury and Devereux have been first 
combined, and two distinct families thus confused 
together.^ And how did this important error arise ? 

Hen. I. (quoted by Dugdale as the 5 Stephen) ; William d'Eve- 
feux, whose widow gave lands to Gloucester Abbey, in or before 
the reign of Henry II. ; Eustace in 5 John ; Stephen in 15 John* 
To these may be added Rogerus de Ebrois, a Domesday 
subtenant in Norfolk j and from Ordericus Vitalis, the name 
of Ricardus Ebroicensis Jilius Fulconis Prcepositi, mentioned 
under the year 1119. On the first application of surnames, 
large towns gave a distinctive appellation to several persons 
wholly unconnected with one another in blood, — to any man, in 
short, who left one of them to reside elsewhere, not having 
otherwise acquired a personal surname ; and it would be as 
reasonable to suppose that all persons bearing the names of 
English cities, have descended from the Earls of those cities 
(for which supposition there is not the slightest ground), as to 
conclude that the family of Devereux were necessarily de- 
scended from the Counts of Evreux. The genealogists of the 
house of Devereux may concede this fact to the force of his- 
torical truth, without detracting at all from the high antiquity, 
and scarcely from the high nobility, of a name which is cer- 
tainly one of the proudest in the annals of England. 

* The latter was the descent asserted in the Claim of James 
Edward Devereux, of Carigmenan, co. Wexford, Esq. to the 
service of bearing the Golden Rod and Dove at the Corona- 
tion of King George the Fourth. 

f The statement does not occur in the earlier editions of Col- 
lins, in which Dugdale is strictly followed ; but it seems to have 
been inserted in the edition of 1779, and adopted from a MS. 
Baronage by Sir Henry St. George. 



THE HOUSE OF SALISBURY. 43 

As it seems, from the original alteration of only a 
single letter ! In the Book of Lacock, as quoted 
by Vincent, by Brooke, and in the Monasticon, 
Walter de Rosmar is called " Walterus le Ew^ 
rus,' which was the old orthography for Heu- 
reux, an epithet of a similar nature to that of 
his grandson. Gerold le Gros, and others noticed in 
a previous page. # But in the English version of the 
family history given in the Baronage,^ this name 
was accidentally altered to Walter de Ewrus % ; and 
from this clerical or typographical error some over- 
zealous magnifier of the family of the Earls of Es- 
sex (now Viscounts Hereford), converted le Ewrus, 
or le Heureux, into Devereux. Such, after a longj 
careful, and scrupulous investigation, is proved to 
be the sole origin of the surname of Devereux having 
been bestowed upon the early Earls of Salisbury. 

Their actual surname, which had been assumed 
by Edward the Sheriff, was de Sarisburie, or Salis- 

* His son's name, Mantelec, was probably from his peculiar 
mantelet, or cloak ; see Ducange, v. Mantelletum. King Henry 
I. as is well known, was designated Court-Mantel. 

f It was not, however, an original error of Dugdale, for the 
Salisbury family are styled tc de Eureux " in Camden's Bri- 
tannia and Brooke's Catalogue of the Peers, 1619 ; yet nei- 
ther does Brooke confound " de Eureux " with Devereux. 
Under the title of Essex he does not enter upon the early 
lineage of the Devereuxs. Brooke, Vincent, and Dugdale, 
in their extracts from the Book of Lacock, all have le Ewrus. 

J In the same way, in the Earls of Chester, Ranulph le 
Meschyn, or Ralph junior, (for, though he was the first Earl of 
the name, his father's name was Ranulph,) has been trans- 
formed into a surname, de Meschines. 



44 THE EARLS OF ROSMAR. 

bur jr. Their ancestral name, which was retained by 
the elder branch of the family, was Rosmar, Rolmar, 
Roumare, or Romara. These Earls of Rosmar, 
as they are styled in the Book of Lacock, were evi- 
dently the same (though no writer has hitherto 
noticed that fact), as the family of which, in another 
part of his Baronage, Dugdale has given an ac- 
count under the name of Romare ; and whose name 
occurs in the Chronicle of Ordericus Vitalis, 
under the forms of de Rolmara and de Roumare. 
The earldom which this house possessed was not an 
obscure fief in Normandy, as the heralds, when 
translating the Book of Lacock, seem to have sup- 
posed ; but the chronicler of Lacock gave them the 
title of Comes, because one of them was an English 
Earl, and that of no less an earldom than Lincoln- 
shire, where he built the Castle of Bolingbroke, 
afterwards a residence of the royal house of Lancas- 
ter, and the birth-place of King Henry the Fourth. 

The discovery of this latent identity of the Earls 
of Rosmar and the family of Romare, is the more 
valuable, in our present inquiry, from the additional 
credit which it confers upon the statements of the 
Book of Lacock. We will therefore here introduce, 
for examination, the genealogy translated verbatim 
from that authority.* 

" There was a strenuous Norman soldier, Wal- 
ter the Fortunate, Earl of Rosmar, to whom, on ac- 

* " Erat quidam miles strenuus Normannus, Walterus le 
Ewrus, Comes de Rosemar ; qui propter probitatem suam 



THE EARLS OF ROSMAR. 45 

count of his prowess, King William gave the whole 
demesne of Salisbury and Ambresbury. Before 
this Walter le Ewrus came into England he was the 
father of Gerold Earl of Rosmar, Mantelec ; who 
was the father of William de Rosmar le Gros ; who 
was father of William de Rosmar le Meschyn, the 
second ; who was father of the third William de 
Rosmar, who died without children. After (he 
came into England) Walter le Ewrus had Edward, 
by nation English-born, who was subsequently she- 
riff of Wiltes." And then, having traced down the 
pedigree to Ela the heiress, " who was given to 
William Longspe, son of King Henry the Second," 
it is added, " to whom King Richard restored the 
Earldom of Rosmar, as the inheritance and heredi- 
tary right of him and Ela, which had devolved upon 

Rex Guillelmus Conq. dedit sibi totum dominium de Sares- 
buria et Ambresburia. Antequam iste Walterus le Ewrus in 
Angliam venit, genuit Geroldum Comitem de Rosmar Mante- 
lec ; qui genuit Guillelmum de Rosmar le Gros ; qui genuit 
Gulielmum de Rosmar le Meschyn secundum ; qui genuit Gu- 
lielmum tertium de Rosmar, qui obiit sine liberis. Postquam 
Walterus le Ewrus genuit Edwardum, natione Anglicum natum, 
postea Vicecomitem Wiltes," &c. — " Elam, quae data est do- 
mino Gulielmo de Longspee filio regis Henrici Secundi, cui. 
dominus Rex Ricardus reddidit comitatum de Rosmar, sicut 
haereditatem et jus haereditarium suum, id est ipsius Elae, quod 
sibi accessit et accidit de jure haereditario Edwardi de Sares- 
buria filii Walteri le Ewrous." Vincent's Discovery of Errors 
in Brooke, fol. 1622. In the Monasticon the words "Man- 
telec ; qui genuit Gulielmum de Rosmar " were omitted, by 
which a descent in the pedigree was lost. 



46 FAMILY OF ROMARA. 

her from the right of heirship of Edward of Salis- 
bury, son of Walter the Fortunate." 

This pedigree of Rosmar obviously alludes to the 
same parties whom Dugdale has noticed (somewhat 
incorrectly, as will be shown hereafter,) under the 
head of Romare, viz. — Gerold, — William Earl of 
Lincoln, — William, who died in his fathers life, 
and was therefore called Meschyn, a word synony- 
mous with junior,— and William " the third," * who 
died without children. That the family had any 
other claim to the title of Earl-f~ except as the first 
William was Earl of Lincoln, is not apparent ; for 
his son died in his father's life-time, and the grand- 
son, though he enjoyed much of the Lincoln- 
shire estates, never had the dignity of Earl. It 
is probable, however, that part of the remaining 
possessions of Romara may have been granted 
by King Richard, as the Lacock chronicler says, to 

* This was the designation by which the last William de 
Roumare was distinguished in charters and law proceedings j 
as we find from a plea-roll temp. John, respecting the advow- 
son of Hareby, co. Lincoln, noticed in the Placitorum Abbre- 
viate, p. 75. 

f If Rosmar or Roumare had been an earldom in Nor- 
mandy, it would have occurred in the Norman historians, 
which it does not j and Ordericus Vitalis always speaks of 
William de Rolmar or Roumare without any title. It is true 
that, about a century after the Conquest, we find a Hawise 
Countess of Roumare; but this was evidently the surname, as 
in numberless other instances, and it is even doubtful whether 
that lady's name was not Redmer or Redvers, instead of Rou- 
mare (see hereafter, p. 75). 



WALTER DE ROSMAR, LE EWRUS. 47 

the Earl of Salisbury ; for we find that the same 
Earl (but some years after King Richard's death), 
was joint Sheriff of Lincolnshire during the years 
1217 to 1222, though Ranulph III. Earl of Chester 
was the Earl of that county during the same 
period.* 

For the remaining history of the house of Ro- 
mara, the reader may be referred to the Sheet 
Pedigree, and to the remarks, at the end of this 
Chapter. But the name of William de Romara, 
afterwards Earl of Lincoln, will presently again 
occur as the companion of his uncle Edward of 
Salisbury, upon one very remarkable occasion. 

It should, however, be premised before we pro- 
ceed to the next generation, that of Walter de Ros- 
mar, le Ewrus, alleged by the Book of Lacock 
to have been the father of Gerold and of Edward 
of Salisbury, and to have been rewarded by the 
Conqueror as one of his most faithful followers, no 
mention has been found in any other authority ; 
and what is still more remarkable is this, that in 
the only account of the companions of the Con- 

* This is not the place to enter into a discussion respecting 
the Earldom of Lincoln • but it may be briefly remarked that 
John de Laci was Ear] of Lincoln 1232 — 1240, in right of his 
wife Hawise, niece to the Earl of Chester ; that Edmond his son 
was never Earl of Lincoln, though he enjoyed the Third Penny 
of the County ; but that Henry de Laci, the grandson, having 
married Margaret de Longespe, daughter of the Earl of Salis- 
bury, and thus, as we may suppose, united the claims of the hvo 
houses, was the acknowledged Earl from 1257 to 1312. 



48 WILLIAM DE ROMARE. 

queror which can be depended upon, Wace's Roman 
de Rou*, we do not find any Walter de Rosmar 
(nor any Walter Devereux) ; but we do find, among 
that brief but authentic catalogue, the name of 
William de Romare. 

Et dam Guill. de Romare.f 

To give an explanation of this circumstance, 
which would admit of proof, would scarcely be 
possible. A variety of conjectural hypotheses might 
be formed ; but, laying aside for the moment the 
discrepancy of the Christian name, may not so 
much at least as this be regarded as evident, — that, 
whether his name was Walter, or William like his 
successors, the same person, so highly distinguished 
by the Conqueror, propter probitatem, was intended 
by both writers ? 

* The corrupted and interpolated state of the lists going 
under the name of the Roll of Battle Abbey, is well known, 
and they were reprobated so long since as the days of Camden. 
Besides, was that Roll more trust-worthy, yet, as it does not 
give christian names, it could not identify individuals. 

f So quoted by Sir Henry Ellis in his Introduction to 
Domesday Book, p. xii. from a manuscript of Wace's Poem in 
one of the Royal MSS. Brit. Mus. The name of Devereux in 
any guise does not occur in the Poem ; but the historians of the 
Counts of Evreuxsay, that Richard, the Count at the invasion of 
England, and William his son and successor, both fought at 
Hastings. 

In the list of the Norman invaders given by Holinshed from 
" the Chronicles of Normandie by one William Tailleur," we 
find also William, not Walter, — " Guillaume de Roumare, seig. 
de Lithare." 



EDWARD OF SALISBURY. 49 

With Edward of Salisbury, from whom the 
Foundress of Lacock derived her lineal descent, our 
first indubitable evidence commences ; and his name 
remains still inscribed, not only in the Book of La- 
cock, but also in various parts of the national records. 
The earliest documents in which it occurs, and that 
certainly some years anterior to Domesday Book, 
are the charters granted by the Conqueror to the 
Abbey of Selby and by the Conqueror's Queen to 
that of Malmesbury. In the former his name 
occupies a very conspicuous situation among the 
witnesses. Of the whole King's Court then pre- 
sent in London, he is named second ; that is, next 
after Odo Bishop of Baieux, the half-brother of the 
Conqueror.* The date of this charter, however, it 
is not easy to determine. Selby Abbey is said to 
have been founded in 1069 ; but, as the document 
in question is a confirmation and not a foundation 
charter, the only guide given by that date is, that 
the deed must have been executed at some time 
subsequent to it. Bishop Remigius, another of 
the witnesses, was not consecrated to the see of 

* " Data carta hsec et confirmata apud Lundonias, in prae- 
sencia istorum, scilicet, Odonis Baiocensis Episcopi, Edwardi 
de Salesbiria, Hugonis de Portu, Hugonis de Monteforti, 
Roberti de Olley, Ricardi filii comitis Gilberti, Baldwini 
fratris ejus, Remigii episcopi, Radulphi Talebois, Roberti de 
Tarry, Gaufridi de la Wirchi, et totius curiae Regis," — Monas- 
ticon, 1655, vol. I. p. 371. 

E 



50 EDWARD OF SALISBURY. 

Dorchester (which he afterwards removed to Lin- 
coln) until the year 1070 ; this (as far as our pre- 
sent information extends) is our earliest limit, and 
the latest is the year 1082, when Bishop Odo was 
disgraced.^ If we approach this latest verge, 
which is nearly the same as that of the Malmesbury 
charter, which has a date, namely, 1081, — these 
documents (the latter of which is five years ante- 
rior to Domesday Book) appear to throw a degree 
of doubt upon the statement of the Lacock his- 
torian, that Edward was born after the Con- 
quest, " natione Anglicus ; " as, if so, he was 
placed as a witness to important charters before 
he was fifteen years old. However, it is clear that 
he must have been a youth, at most, at the 
Conquest, and but little advanced in manhood 
when he witnessed the Malmesbury charter ; for we 
shall find him a valiant and active warrior at so 
late a period as 1120. 

There can be no doubt that the " Signum Edwardi 
Vicecomitis," attached to the Malmesbury charter, 
was that of Edward of Salisbury. His name is here 
the last, but it is the last of a very illustrious list. -j~ 

* Vincent, however, on what grounds it does not appear, 
places the Selby charter in 21 Will. Conq. Second Discovery, 
p. 79. 

f The King, Queen Matilda, Archbishop Lanfranc, 
Bishop Odo, Bishop Remigius, Osmund Bishop of Sarum, 
Godfrey Bishop of Constance, Walchelin Bishop of Winches- 
ter, Walter Abbat of Evesham, Robert the Earl, Baldwin the 
Sheriff, and Edward the Sheriff. 



THE COUNTESS LUCIA. 51 

He was also a witness to a charter of the Con- 
queror to the Priory of Lewes, under the same title 
of " Edwardus Vicecomes." The date of this can- 
not be earlier than 1080, when William de Kair- 
lipho became Bishop of Durham.^ 

The next document in which the name of Edward 
of Salisbury has been found, is the great national 
record called Domesday Book, in which he appears 
so largely endowed with lands and possessions that 
it is very evident that he (and probably with the 
Book of Lacock we may add his father, whether 
Walter or William,) was a person highly in favour 
with the Norman Conqueror. 

At the same period the elder branch of the house 
of Romara was by no means so richly endowed 
with landed possessions in England. Yvo Tailbois, 
the first husband of the rich Saxon heiress Lucy, 
was living at the period of the Survey, and his name 
appears, though not as Earl of Lincoln (for there 
seems to have been no Earl at that time), yet as 
lord of Bolingbroke, and of a long list of manors.-f~ 
Yvo died in 1104, and the Countess Lucia his 

* Signatures : S. Willielmi regis. S. Will. fil. regis. S. 

Hamrici filii regis. S. Will, de Warenna. S ingard nep. 

S. Osmundi ep. S. Wauchelini ep. S. Remigii ep. S ^. 

S. Willelmi ep. Dunelm. S. Hamrici. S. Michael de Tona. 
S. Walteri S. E. Vicecom. S. Milonis Crispini. S 

f Dugdale (Baronage, vol. i. p. 33,) styles Yvo Tailbois 
Count of Anjou, but see hereafter, p. 69. 



52 THE COUNTESS LUCIA. 

widow was immediately re-married to Roger de Ho- 
niara, the younger nephew of Edward of Salisbury^ 
These events are thus recorded by Peter of Blois, 
the continuator of the history of Ingulphus of 
Croyland. " Yvo having died of paralysis, his wife, 
with moderate lamentations, but with the great joy 
of all the neighbourhood (for Yvo had been exceed- 
ingly oppressive to his vassals, and an especial 
enemy of the monks of Croyland), buried him in 
the Priory of Spalding. And when scarcely one 
month was elapsed after his death, being married 
to an illustrious youth, Roger de Romara, son of 
Gerold de Romara, and being much honoured by 
her husband's elder brother, William de Romara, 
Earl of Lincoln, she entirely forgot all remembrance 
of Yvo Tailbois. Their only daughter,* who had 
been nobly espoused, had indeed died before her 
father; for that evil shoots should not fix deep 
roots in the world, the accursed lineage of that 
wicked man perished by the axe of the Almighty, 
which cut off all his issue. -j~" 

* It is remarkable that we find in the Register of Cocker- 
sand Abbey, an Ivo Tailbo£, father of Elthredus, and ancestor 
of the family of Lancaster, Barons of Kendal (Monasticon, 
vol.11, p. 636) ; him Dugdale (Baronage, p. 421) identifies 
with Ivo T&tiboys, who gave land to St. Mary's Abbey, York. 

f The chronicler then pursues a bitter strain of invective 
which is too curious to be omitted, but would be spoiled by 
translation : " Quid ergo tibi jam prodest, in Christi servos et 
omnes tuos convicinos, O Yvo semper saevissime, sic contra 



THE BATTLE OF BRENNEVILL. 53 

Of Roger de Rom ara we hear nothing further 
after his marriage. It seems probable that he died 
young, leaving his son William an infant, and the 
Countess Lucy was then married, for the third time, 
to the first Ralph Earl of Chester. 

The years 1118 and 1119 are the first fixed pe- 
riods at which we meet with William de Romara, 
evidently the uncle,* and at the same time with the 
last notice of Edward of Salisbury. King Henry 
had to contend, during those years, with an obsti- 
nate rebellion in Normandy, headed by Hugh de 
Gorney ; in which William de Romara, then Go- 
vernor of Newmarch, had at first been the sole 
upholder of the royal authority.*^ At length, in the 
year 1119, the King, in person, put an end to the 
rebellion at the decisive battle of Brennevill ; in 

Dominum surrexisse ? In terram lapsus es connumeratus 
cum mortuis, in puncto ad inferos descendisti, successor, veteris 
Adae, testa fragilis, glomum cineris, lutum fictile, pellis morti- 
cina, vas putredinis, fomes tinearum, cibus vermium, derisio 
superstitum, abjectio supernorum, servorum Dei sicut quon- 
dam publicus hostis, sic a coetu sanctorum, sicut verisimiliter 
supponitur, exul et extorris, ac tenebris exterioribus tuis 
innumeris dementis deputandus." — Rerum Anglicarum Scrip- 
torum Veterum, fol. 1684, p. 125. 

* The nephew could not then have been more than thirteen, 
and so could not possibly have been an active commander for 
the King, as Dugdale has made him. This alone would prove 
that there was such a person as William the uncle. 

t i( Solus Guillelmus de Rolmara Novimercati municeps, et 
commanipulares ejus illis obstabant." Ordericus Vitalis. 



54 EDWARD OF SALISBURY. 

which Edward of Salisbury though then undoubt- 
edly advanced in age, was the royal standard- 
bearer, " a brave warrior (says the chronicler), 
whose valour was, from experience, well known, and 
his constancy of heart persevering to the last." * 

This was therefore, in all probability, the final 
scene of Edward's active warfare. On his way 
home he evinced as remarkable a proof of prudence 
as he had lately shown of his valour. It was on 
the voyage back to England from this expedition 
that the King's two sons and Richard Earl of Ches- 
ter, with a large number of courtiers, were lost by 
shipwreck. Edward of Salisbury and his nephew 
William de Rolmara were among those who had 
left the vessel before it sailed, " because they per- 
ceived it was filled with too great a multitude of 
wanton and arrogant youth.-}-" 

Such are the last interesting notices of the life of 
Edward of Salisbury, the first English ancestor of 
the Foundress of Lacock. The date of his death is 
unknown. His wife was apparently a daughter of 

* " Edwardus de Salisburia ibi portavit vexillum, fortis 
agonista, cujus robur erat probatione notissimum, et constan- 
tia perseverans, usque ad exitium." Ordericus Vitalis. 

f " Duo siquidem monachi Tyronis et Stepbanus Comes 
[tbe Earl of Morton, afterwards King Stephen] cum duo- 
bus militibus; Guillelmus quoque de Rolmara, et Rabel- 
lus camerarius, Eduardus de Salesburia, et alii plures inde 
exierunt, quia nimiam multitudinem lascivse et pompaticae 
juventutis inesse conspicati sunt." Ordericus Vitalis. 



FAMILY OF EDWARD OF SALISBURY. 55 

Roger de Reimes, or de Ramis, # who was a 
Domesday tenant in capite, in Essex, Middlesex, 
Norfolk, and Suffolk, and the head of whose barony- 
was at the place now called Rayne, in the first named 
county. It would seem also, that Edward's widow 
was married to Payne, son of William de Hocton. -j~ 
Matilda, one of Edward's daughters, was given in 
marriage, with several manors, to the second Hum- 
phrey de Bohun, surnamed the Great, steward of 
the household to King William Rufus, the son of 
Humphrey cum Barba, a kinsman of the Con- 
queror. J Another daughter, Leonia, was the wife 

* i( Uxor Roberti de Stuteville est de donatione Domini 
Regis, et de parentela Edwardi de Salisburia ex parte patris, 
et ex parte matris est de progenie Rogeri de Reimes." (Ro- 
tuli de Dominabus, &c. 31 Hen. II. 1185, edited by Stacey 
Grimaldi, F.S.A. 4to. 1830, p. 38.) In a charter of the Ab- 
bey of Welbeck (Monasticon, vol. II. p. 602.) Henry de 
Stuteville confirms a gift of his mother Leonia de Reynes. 

f In the Pipe Roll, 31 Hen. I. (heretofore called 5 Steph.) 
in p. 81 of the edition printed by the Commissioners of Public 
Records, 8vo. 1833, are these two entries ; first, William de 
Hoctona renders accompt of 200/. for the wife of Edward Sar\ 
with the land, to the benefit [opus] of Payne, his son ; again, 
Paganus de Hoctona renders accompt of 200 marks of silver 
and 2 marks of gold for the wife of Edward Sar\ 

+ " Dominus Hunfredus de Bohun, cum barba, qui primo 
venit cum Willielmo Conquestore in Angliam de Normannia, 
cognatus dicti Conquestoris, genuit Dominum Hunfredum de 
Bohun secundum. Qui fuit vocatus Hunfredus Magnus j qui, 
per voluntatem et praeceptum Willielmi Rous ; filii dicti Con- 



56 HUMPHREY DE BOHUN, THE GREAT. 

of Robert de Stutevill, and by him the mother of 
the wife of Robert de Bretteville.* 

I may here remark that it was the same Hum- 
phrey de Bohun, styled the Great, and the husband 

questoris, desponsavit Matildem filiam Edwardi de Salesbury - y 
cum qua Matilda pater suus donavit dicto Hunfredo in Jibe- 
rum maritagium, omnia terras et tenementa sua quae fuerunt ex 
perquisitione dicti Edwardi ; viz. Weston juxta Salesbury, et 
Walton, Newenton, Piryton, Stauntone, Trobrege, et unum 
messuagium in Salesbury juxta portam orientalem, et advoca- 
tionem ecclesiae S. Crucis quae est fundata supra portam ante- 
dictam, una cum uno prato extra Salesbury. Et Weston prae- 
dicta postea fuit data in escambium pro Wynelesford et 
Manyngford ; et omnia alia terrae et tenementa quae fuerunt 
de haereditate dicti Edwardi remanebant filio suo et haeredi, 
vocato Waltero Salesbury." — Ex Cronicis Abb. de Lanthpni, 
Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. II. p. 67. 

* See the Rotulus de Dominabus, quoted in a preceding 
note 5 and the following entry from the Placitorum Abbreviatio, 
p. 41, " Rob'tus de Bretevill dicit q'd Edwardusde Salebir' qui 
frater primogenif fuit ejusdem Graelent [Gradelent de Taneie], 
habuit filiam quandam Leoniam nomine quam Rob'tus de Stu- 
tevill desponsavit et implacitavit eundem Graelent in cur' D'ni 
Reg' Henr' et v'sus eum t'ram de Guneby recuperavit, et dedit 
eidem Rob'to medietatem t're illius pro servicio suo et medie- 
tatem in maritagium." The words " frater primogenitus 7 
probably signify that Edward of Salisbury's wife Leonia was 
the elder sister of the wife of Gradelent de Tany. Alizia dc 
Tany, said to be te de progenie Rogeri de Reimes," was living a 
widow in 1185, with five sons, of whom the heir was twenty 
years of age (that was to say, beyond his minority, and proba- 
bly considerably more) and two daughters. (Rotuli de Domi- 
nabus, &c. p. 38). 



THE PRIORY OF FARLEY. 57 

of Matilda de Salisbury, who founded the priory of 
Farley in this county. This took place in the year 
1125, according to the Register of Lewes Abbey. 
Dugdale, in his Baronage, though he was aware of 
that date, inadvertently ascribed the foundation to 
the third Humphrey de Bohun and Margaret his 
w T ife ; but the authority in the Monasticon, from 
w T hich he quoted, is not the foundation, but a con- 
firmation, charter. The error was noticed, and cor- 
rected, by Tanner ; who remarked that the third 
Humphrey "did not die until 1187, and was not 
likely to found this priory sixty-two years before." 
In corroboration of this corrected statement, I will 
notice another circumstance. " Matilda de Bohun," 
the wife of the second Humphrey, and the daugh- 
ter of Edward of Salisbury, is mentioned in the 
same charter as having been a benefactress ; which 
alone shows that the Priory was founded in her 
lifetime ; and it is remarkable that, of the lands 
which she had brought her husband in dower, we 
find several named among the endowments of the 
monastery of Farley.^ 

* — " ecclesiam de Wivelisford .... decern solidos de ec- 
clesia de Troubrig. . . . medietatem ecclesiae de Waletona qua? 
ad nostrum feodum pertinet, et decimam dominii de Staner- 
tona." See all these places mentioned in the note in the preced- 
ing page. " Et donamus eis similiter ecclesiam de Bissopestreu 
cum omnibus quae ad ecclesiam pertinent, et unam hidam 
terrae in eadem villa de dono Matildis de Bohun, et pasturam 



58 SELBY ABBEY. 

From an anxious consideration of all the circum- 
stances of minute concurrent historical facts, we can- 
not but admit the general veracity of the Book of 
Lacock ; and without having first endeavoured to 
throw all the light in our power on this material 
point, it would be useless to proceed, at least so 
far as Ela's early romantic history is concerned. 

Having now said all which I have deemed it right 
to say on these obscure questions of genealogy/* I 
shall only detain the reader a few moments longer 
to mention one remarkable circumstance in addition 
to what has been already stated. It will be remem- 
bered that the first of this family who came with 
the invading army to Britain, bore the name of 
Walter us le Ewrus ; and that his son Edward of 
Salisbury, when in early youth, was a witness to the 
Conquerors charter to Selby Abbey. 

ad centum oves et ad carucatam bourn in eadem villa." Now 
" Biscopestreu" is described in Domesday Book among the 
lands of Edward of Salisbury, and the manor of Bishopstrow 
was one of those with which his descendant Ela endowed the 
nunnery of Lacock ; but this hide of land, with the advowson 
of the church, had evidently been given by Edward to his 
daughter Matilda de Bohun, and she bestowed them upon the 
priory of Farley. They continued to belong to that house 
until the dissolution, at which period the annual rent of the 
land was 11. 13s. 4tZ. ; and the Prior down to the same period 
presented to the rectory. See Hoare's Hundred of War- 
minster. 

* For the foregoing elaborate investigation I am indebted 
entirely to Mr. J. G. Nichols. 



INSCRIPTION AT TYNEMOUTH ABBEY. 59 

That abbey was founded when William, stung to 
madness by the massacre of his faithful Normans, 
made a vow to avenge their loss, and to leave the 
country, from the Ouse to the Tyne, from York to 
Durham, desolate. I will now request the readers 
attention to a very singular circumstance. In the 
great cemetery of the abbey of Tynemouth, in which 
were interred the bodies of the most illustrious 
persons of the period of which we are treating, 
particularly of those slain in the fatal conflicts of 
that country, has been found a coffin with this 
remarkable inscription : 

WALTERUS CELARIUS 

which is of an exactly similar form to another 
coffin at Durham, which bears the name of Gospa- 
tricus Comes,* of the same age. Thus, may we 
not, without any great stretch of fancy, suppose 
the former to be the tomb of one of William's most 
confidential warriors, who had fallen a sacrifice in 
that fatal insurrection which led to the votive 
foundation of Selby Abbey ? The person comme- 
morated surely could not be the obscure cellarer of 
a convent, so buried among the princes and kings 

• I have been favoured with these inscriptions by my friend 
the Rev. John Skinner, F.S.A. of Camerton, Somerset, who 
first observed and took a drawing of the coffin, on which ap- 
peared nominis umbra (distinct to this day) Walterus Ce- 
laiuus. 



60 OLD SARISBURIE. 

of that royal cemetery, with a tomb exactly resem- 
bling the renowned Gospatrick's. Those who fell 
in this terrific and disastrous warfare, as Mal- 
colm King of Scots and his son, slain 1071, were 
buried at Tynemouth. From his name, Walterus, 
he must have been a Norman— a most distinguished 
Norman ; and probably, from the place of burial, 
among the illustrious slain. Might we not there- 
fore be further allowed to suppose him the Cellarer 
of the King, if not ipse Walterus strenuus, sur- 
named le Ewrus ? Butlerus is Norman latin for 
the Butler. Might not le Ewrus, or Cellarius, 
after all, denote a regal officer connected with the 
Ewrie or cellar ? for the word Ewrus is invariably 
spelt with a w, not u. 

It is true that this is all conjecture ; but the cir- 
cumstances are so remarkable, as connected with 
the Conquerors revenge, and Edward of Salisbury's 
signature to the charter of Selby, in extreme youth, 
that I was unwilling that any circumstance, although 
of shadowy possibility, should be omitted, which 
might serve to illustrate the only record we possess 
of the history of the extraction, Norman parentage, 
and early years of the pious and celebrated foun- 
dress of Lacock Nunnery. 

I shall now conclude the disquisition with a brief 
description of the scene and seat which the Con- 
queror bestowed upon his faithful follower at Saris- 
burie. 



OLD SARUM. 61 

In looking at the now silent, sad, and vacant 
mound, on which stood a city once so distinguished, 
we might say, in the words of Ossian, 

" Desolate is the dwelling of Edward ! " 

The vast mound, strewed with the relics of ancient 
years, rising over the wide extent of downs, which 
are seen spreading below as far as the eye can reach, 
was originally, like the knoll at Glastonbury, one of 
those elevated pyramidal hills peculiarly sacred to 
the Sun, in the Druidical worship. 

This singular and solitary eminence I have sug- 
gested elsewhere # to have been the Hill of the 
Sun, connected with the " round temple," in which 
Diodorus Siculus, quoting Hecateus, says, a the 
praises of Apollo were sung night and day ; " and 
I have presumed that Stonehenge, at least the inner 
circle of granite -j~, being the original temple, 

* Hills of the shape of barrows, were sacred to Mercury, 
the Egyptian God of the Dead and the Resurrection. Hence 
the immense barrow at Avebury, " Mercurii tumulus." (Pliny.) 
See my History of Bremhill. 

f The Monkish tradition is, that the stones at Stonehenge 
were brought from Africa to Kildare, in Ireland ; from thence 
transported by the magic of Merlin. Might not this wizard 
of romance have been a traditionary personage derived from the 
Druidical Mavrts, who always accompanied the Phoenician 
ships ? It is evident to me that the original temple consisted 
only of the smaller circles of granite (See Mr. Conybeare's 
Essay in the Gentleman's Magazine for November 1833, in 
corroboration of this previous remark of my own) ; the vast 
outward trigliphs, it has been suggested by my friend Warner* 



62 OLD SARUM. 

this majestic mound, still preserving the traces of 
the early English name, " Solis," might be the Hill 
of the Bards, according to Diodorus. # 

It was afterwards the chief military Roman post 
and seat of dominion in Western Britain ; and from 
Caesar it probably derived its subsequent name.f 

were the work of the Belgic Britons, when they possessed 
this part of the country. They also worshipped the Sun and 
Fire, Solera et Vulcanum. The greater temple at Avebury I 
have considered the temple to the greater Celtic Deity 
Teat, from Thoth, the Mercury of the Latins and Hermes 
of the Greeks. Caesar says, that " the Celts, as their chief 
Deity, worship Mercury, of whom there are many simulacra — 
structures of stone ; and that after him, they worship Apollo." 
Hermes Britannicus. 

* See Davies's Celtic Researches. 

f Sarisburie and Sarum, from Caesar and Csesarum (Cae- 
Saris, Cae- Sarum), the first syllable being dropt, as Saragossa, 
Caesaris- Augusta, &c. Salisbury may be from Solisbury ; so 
Salisbury Crag, Edinburgh — Hills dedicated to the Sun — Salis- 
bury Hill, Bath, from Aqua-Solis, called Aqua Sulis by the 
Romans, in compliment to the Britons. In some Latin verses 
on the death of Bishop Jewel, by George Coryat, the father of 
celebrated Thomas the Odcombian Traveller, I find pre- 
cisely the same idea of the origin of Sarum, from Caesarum ; 
and indeed we know Fundus Caesaris was an ancient name of 
this illustrious city, 

Julius Austriacus Caesar cum vicerat Anglum, 
Fertur ad occiduas castra Iocasse plagas, 

Et fundasse suo de nomine Casaris urbem 
Sive Sarisburiam — Casariam ve voces. 

That the idea was therefore formerly entertained there can 
be no doubt, and it seems to me most plausible, though it has 
been given up. 



OLD SARUM. 63 

Masses of Roman masonry may still be visibly 
recognised amidst the scattered fragments ; its ori- 
ginal pyramidal point being in part levelled to form 
successively a seat of military command, or the 
basis of this singular city in the clouds. 

About one hundred and forty years after the 
foundation of its new city, its last lingering inhabi- 
tants descended to the vale below, where the new 
cathedral rose in its beauty, to which the bones of 
its early prelates had been conveyed. The first of 
the living, buried in this new cathedral, was the 
heroic husband of the descendant of Edward of 
Sarisburie ; and the tomb, as we have described it, 
yet appears of him who laid, at the foundation, the 
fourth stone. That the latter city and its beautiful 
cathedral may stand with better auspices than the 
former, ever will be our prayer, in casting a look 
on " the desolate dwelling of Edward." 

This Chapter is concluded with the following 
lines, on this deserted seat of the first Earls of Salis- 
bury, with its now perished cathedral ; and on the 
living children gathering flowers in the churchyard 
of the new cathedral. 

CATHEDRAL AT OLD SARUM. 

Here stood the City of the Dead ; look round, 
Dost thou not mark a visionary band, 
Druids and Bards, upon the summit stand 

Of the majestic and time-hallow'd mound ? 



64 OLD SARUM. 

Hark! heard ye not, at times, the acclaiming sound 
Of harps, as when those Bards, in white array, 
Haird the ascending Lord of Light and Day ? 

No ! all is hush'd in solitude profound ! 

Here, o'er the clouds the first Cathedral rose, 
Whose Prelates now in yonder fane repose 

Among the mighty of years pass'd away— 
For there her latest seat Religion chose ; 

There, still to Heaven ascends the holy lay, 
And never may those shrines in dust and silence close ! 






CHILDREN GATHERING FLOWERS IN THE CATHEDRAL 
CHURCHYARD OF NEW SARUM. 

When summer comes, the little children play, 
In the churchyard of our Cathedral gray, 
Busy as morning bees, and gathering flowers, 
In the brief sunshine. They, of coming hours 
Reck not, intent upon their play, tho' Time 
Speeds, like a spectre, by them, and their prime 
Bears on to sorrow. 

" Angel, cry aloud ! " 
Tell them of life's long winter — of the shroud ! — 
No ! let them play — for Age, alas ! and Care, 
Too soon will frown to teach them what they are. 

Then, let them play ; but come, with aspect bland, 
Come, Charity, and lead them by the hand ; 
Come, Faith, and shew, amid life's saddest gloom, 
A light from Heaven, that shines beyond the tomb. 

When they look up, and, high in air, admire 
The lessening shaft of that aerial spire, 
So be their thoughts uplifted from the sod, 
Where Time's brief flowers they gather— to their God. 

April 1834. W. L. B. 






Page 65, 



PEDIGREE II. 



THE HOUSE OF ROMARA 



GmoLD.-p- 



GlROLD : 

Dapi- 

FER, 

living 
1064. 



: 1. Albreda. Edward of Ralph, Yvo Tailbois, m.=^LuciA, heiress of 



2. Emicia. Salisbury, ancestor 1072. Ingulphi 



Carta Sti. See Pedi- of the 
Amandi. gree I, p. Tancar- 
39. villes. 



ob. s. p. s. 1114, 
P. de Blois, bu. 
at Spalding. 



the Saxon Earls of 
Mercia, and sister 
to Edgiva, Queen 
of Harold ; bur. 
at Spalding. 



Robert Fitz Girold.-j-Lucia, Countess=i=2 h. Ranulph de Bayeux, Earl of 



Lib. Domesday. 



of Chester, 
1141. 



died 



William de Romara, : 
Governor of Neufrnarch^ 
in Normandy 1118, Ord. 
Vit. ; Earl of Lin- 
coln, founded Revesby 
Abbey 1142, liv. 1153; 
buried at Revesby. 



: Hawise, 
dau. of 
Richard 
de Red- 



Chester, m. before 1122, died 1123, 
bur. at Chester. 



Rohais, : 
survived 
her hus- 
band. 
Cart, de 
Kirk- 
stead. 



r ~ r _ rn 

ill! 

: Gilbert de Ranulph II. Earl of 
Gant,Earl Chester, d. 1153.^p 
of Lin- William, Earl of Cam- 
coin, jure bridge, 
ux. died Alice, mar. Rich. Fitz- 
1156, bu. Gilbert, 
at Brid- Agnes, m. Robt. Grent- 
lington. mesnil. 



n 



William deRomara, : 
le Meschyn,the second, 
Lib. de Lacock ; d. be- 
fore his father 1152, 
Robert de Monte ; bur. 
at Revesby. Epitaph. 



'- Agnes, Carta ~2 h. Peter 

deMelsa. 4th de Brus, 

dau. of Ste- living 

phen Earl of 1153-5. 

Albemarle. Cartce Sti. 

Regist. de Salvatoris 

Fontibus. Vicecom. 



Alice, Countess of Lincoln ; 
ob. s. p. bur. at Bridling- 
ton; mar. Simon St. Liz, 
Earl of Huntingdon and 
Northampton, and of Lin- 
coln jure ux. ob. 1184. 

Gunnora, ob. s. p. 



Alicia.— William de Romara, the third ;=Philippa, Cartce de 
Carta Lord of Bohngbroke, but not Earl Spalding, et Clyve; 
of Lincoln ; confirmed lands to 
Revesby abbey 1172; founded the ab- 
bey of Cleeve, temp. Rich. I. Carta 
de Clyve. bur. at Revesby. Epitaph. 



de 

Spald- 
ing. 



da. of John Comte 
d'Alencon ; living 
1214. Cart, de Gra- 
villa. 



1 

I 
Robert. 
Carta 
S. Nick. 

Eocon. 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

Since the notices of the Family of Romara in the preceding 
Chapter were printed, we have been favoured with some very 
important communications by Thomas Stapleton, Esq. F.S.A. 
who has made the genealogies of Normandy his particular 
study : and the extracts he has obligingly supplied from au- 
thentic charters, will throw material light on this obscure sub- 
ject, at the same time that they will show how little dependence 
can be placed on the accuracy of the monkish chronicles, from 
which our previous information has in great measure been 
derived. 

The Chronicle of Ingulphus of Croyland, and his continuator 
Peter of Blois (from which the extract has been made in p. 52) 
is certainly in many parts apocryphal, a character which has 
been fully ascertained by Mr. Petrie, and Sir F. Palgrave. In 
the present case the monk makes Yvo de Tailboys die in 11 14 
(not 1104-, as misprinted in p. 51) and to have been the first 
husband of Lucia, afterwards Countess of Chester ; and yet there 
is contemporary evidence to show that William de Romara, her 
son by the person stated to have been her second husband, was 
of age in 1122 ; as he then claimed his inheritance. It appears 
probable (for reasons which will be stated hereafter) that the 
Countess Lucia was the daughter of Tailboys, instead of his 
wife ; and that Roger son of Gerold, who is stated by Ordericus 
Vitalis to have been the first husband of Lucia, was the same 
person with the " Robertus Alius Geroldi,"* the possessor of 

* The difference is so small between Rotbertus and Rotgerus, 
that it cannot destroy the identity of persons, when supported 
by strong circumstantial evidence of tenure and descent. In 
the same manner Radulphus and Ranulphus were used in- 
differently, Osbernus and Osbertus, Edwardus and Evrardus. 



66 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

Corfe Castle at the time of the Domesday survey. Above all, 
the story so circumstantially related, and so highly wrought 
by the eloquent Peter of Blois, proves to be wholly at variance 
with ascertained genealogical facts. 

Again, there seems to be no foundation for the Walter le 
Exvrus of the Book of Lacock ; the name has been fabricated 
from that of his grandson, Walter of Sarisbury. 

Thirdly, the William de Romara of the poet Wace is also a 
fictitious personage, having a similar origin. Wace thought 
only of the heads of those Norman houses who were his own 
contemporaries, quite heedless of anachronism, and attentive 
only to his rhymes. Hence he set down the name of William 
in his couplet — 

E dam Guill. de Romare, 
E li sire de Litehare. 

and these were two distinct personages — not one, as Holinshed 
made them, by dropping the conjunction " E ". The lord of 
Lithare was Eudo cum Capello, the Eudo Dapifer of Domes- 
day. 

As it is believed that the pedigree of Romara has always 
hitherto been stated both imperfectly and inaccurately, a few 
pages shall here be devoted to its illustration. In order to 
correct the previous accounts, it will first be necessary to quote 
the genealogy given in Dugdale's Baronage, which is as 
follows : — 

Gerold de Romara. 
, I 



Roger de=pLucia, dau. of Algar Earl of=pRanulph de Brica- 
Romara. | Chester, and widow of I sard, Earl of 
Yvo Tailboys. Chester. 

r ■ u 1 

William de Romara,=pMaud, dau. of Richard Ranulph Earl 
Earl of Lincoln, j de Redvers. of Chester. 

.r J 

William, ob. v. p.=pHawise, dau. of Stephen Earl 
1152. of Albemarle. 

I 

William de Romara the third. 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 67 

It is remarkable that Milles, in his Catalogue of Honour, 
1610, was correct in his statement of the wives of the two Wil- 
liams, calling the first " Avis, daughter of Richard de Ripariis,'' 
and the second " the daughter of Stephen Earl of Albemarle." 

But Brooke, adopting from Ordericus Vitalis the name of 
Matilda de Ripariis, unadvisedly transferred the name of Hawise 
to the daughter of the Earl of Albemarle (whose name hap- 
pened to be vacant) ; having thus at once adopted one error, 
and perpetrated another, his next step was equally unfortunate ; 
for, still finding that the name of the Countess of Lincoln was 
certainly Hawise, he transferred the daughter of the Earl of 
Albemarle to that situation ; and then, losing sight of the state- 
ment of the Chronicler with which he started, that the husband 
of the supposed Matilda was the Countess Lucia's son, he 
bestowed " Maud de Rivers " upon her grandson, the second 
William, at the same time committing the further blunder of 
substituting the name of Baldwin Rivers as her father, instead 
of Richard. 

Such is the extraordinary labyrinth of error in which Ralph 
Brooke involved this pedigree ; and which neither Vincent nor 
Dugdale, nor any subsequent writer, has hitherto unravelled. 
It is a performance in which Vincent would have rejoiced to 
have found the arrogant " Master Yorke " entangled, and 
would, we may be sure, have submitted him without mercy to 
the torture ; but it is remarkable that this pedigree was passed 
entirely unnoticed by that acute and severe critic. Dugdale, 
partly perceiving Brooke's error, again transposed the ladies • 
but this time the Christian names accompanied them, and con- 
sequently Dugdale has both names wrong, though he rectified 
the parentage. 

Such being the state in which the pedigree has been handed 
down to us, it may not be unacceptable to detail the several 
evidences belonging to the family of Romara, — the kinsmen of 
the house of Sarisbury, — on which the pedigree here inserted 
has been formed. 



68 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

Roumare, the place from which the name was derived, is a 
vill not far distant from Rouen, and gives name to the forest 
of Roumare. The church of this place was granted to the 
abbey of St. Amand in that city, by the same Gerold who is 
mentioned in the Book of Lacock as the elder brother of Ed~ 
ward of Salisbury : but the title of " Comes," which is there 
ascribed to him, is entirely unsupported, and indeed disproved, 
by the evidence of his charters. 

The following was copied by Mr. Stapleton from the original 
cartulary in the archives of Rouen. It has been printed, with 
some unimportant variations, in Pommeraye's Histoire de 
1' Abbaye de Saint Amand de Rouen, fol. 1662. . 

"In nomine, &c. Ego, Geroudus, miles Xp'i, omnibus notum 
facio quod concessione Robertijllii mei etheredis mei concessi et 
dedi pro salute animemee et Alberede uxoris mee, quae xii kl. 
Junii obiit, s'c'imonialibus s'c'i Amandi Roth'i, ecclesiam de 
Honiara, &c. Inde sunt testes Mauritius archiep'us Rothom., 
Michael Abrincen. ep'us, Reinerius abbas s'c'e Trinitatis, 
Radulphusf rater Geroudi, Hugo Broc, Osbertus de Novoforo,* 
Hugo filius Baudrici, Rogerus de Montegumerico, Robertus 
de Camera, et alii." 

Another charter, to the same abbey, also conveying the 
church of Rolmare, &c. commences thus: "Ego Geroldus 
miles Christi, in presentia Willielmi Regis Anglorum, et eodem 
annuente, pro salute anime mee et Emicise uxoris mee," &c. 
(Dugdale's Monasticon, ii. 997). Dom Pommeraye gives the 
same, but without the mention of Emicia. To both these 
charters M. Pommeraye attributes the date 1067. 

The Robert named in the first charter as the son and heir of 
Gerold, occurs in Domesday Book as a tenant iri capite in the 
counties of Hants, Berks, Wilts, Dorset, and Somerset, by the 
name of Robertus filius Giroldi. It is worthy of remark, 
that in Hampshire his name immediately follows that of Edward 
of Salisbury, and in Dorsetshire immediately precedes it. 

* i. e. Neufmarche (see p. 69). 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. f>9 

Robert Fitz Gerold is one of the witnesses to the Conqueror's 
charter to the church of Durham, dated at London in 1082. 

There are strong grounds for supposing that Ralph, the 
brother of Gerold, one of the witnesses to the preceding 
charter of St. Amand, was the same as Ralph, the founder of the 
abbey of Bocherville,, and ancestor uf the Tancarvilles, Cham- 
berlains of Normandy * If such be the fact, then the name of 
Gerold de Romara's father was the same as his own 3 for Ralph 
names Gerold as his lather in the Bocherville foundation charter. 
There seems, indeed, no sufficient reason for imagining that the 
" Walter le Ewrus, Comes de Rosmar," of the Book of Lacock, 
is any other than a fictitious personage. 

Besides Roumare, Gerold was also lord of one-half of Neuf- 
marche. Ordericus Vitalis, under the year 1064-, gives an ac- 
count of the circumstances under which Duke William disin- 
herited Turketil, lord of Neufmarche, and gave it in moieties to 
Hugh de Grandmesnil, and Gerold the Dapifer. In the 
charter granted by Duke William (and therefore before 1066) 
to the Abbey of Bocherville, occur the attestations of Geroldus 
Dapifer, and Robertus Alius ejus — which Robert, by the St. 
Amand charter already cited, is proved to have been his heir. 

William de Romara first appears in 1118 as the castellan 
of Neufmarche, " Novimercati municeps," and his services 
to King Henry at that time have been already noticed in p. 53. 
He evidently possessed this place f in right of his descent from 
Gerold, and consequently must have been heir to Robert. He 
was, in fact, the son of this Robert or Roger Fitzgerald, and of 
Lucia, who became by a second marriage Countess of Chester. 
It will here be necessary to say a few words respecting this 

* Dugdale, in his Baronage, vol. i. p. -ill, has given an 
account of the family of Fitz Gerold, the successors, as he 
says, of Robert Fitz Gerold : but the descent is not made out ; 
though there seems some apparent connection with the Tancar- 
villes, in the circumstance that Warine Fitz Gerold was Cham- 
berlain and Treasurer to King Henry II. 

t " Will'mus de Romara, 14 milites in Romeis apud Novum 
Mercatum, et si Dux mandaverit eum alibi, ibit cum tribus 
militibus, vel mil -i." Liber Rub. Scacc. Hen. II. 



70 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

Lucia, and of Lucia the wife of Yvo Tailbois, with whom she has 
hitherto been identified. 

The monkish historians * state that Lucia, the daughter of 
Algar, son of Leofric Earl of Leicester, and sister to the Earls 
Edwin and Morcar, as also to Edgiva the Queen of Harold, 
was married to Yvo Tailboys, whom, without just authority, 
they style Comte of Anjou. The fact of this marriage there 
seems no reason to doubt. " In the year 1085,"f says the car- 
tulary of Spalding, " Ivo Tailboys gave to the church of St. 
Nicholas of Angers, the church in his town of Spalding, with a 
carucate of land, and the oxen, and all things appertaining to 
the church, for the rest of the souls of King William and Queen 
Matilda his wife, and for his own, and histvife Lucy, and of the 
ancestors of Torald, that is, those of his wife." This Torald, 
who had been the Saxon lord of Spalding, and sheriff of Lin- 
colnshire, was brother to the Countess Godiva, wife of Earl 
Leofric, and consequently great-uncle to Lucia. The date of 
Yvo Tailboys' death is placed in the year 1114, by Peter de 
Blois, as already mentioned ; which may be correct, if we con- 
clude that Lucia Countess of Chester was his daughter, and 
not his wife. 

And this it will not be difficult to show by a little compari- 
son of dates and circumstances. Lucia, the daughter of Earl 
Algar, is stated by Ingulphus to have been married to Yvo 
Tailboys, so early as 1072 ; Yvo is stated by the same party 
(that is, by Peter de Blois, the continuator of the Croyland 
chronicle) to have lived until 1114, forty-two years after ; and 
yet this same Lucy is made afterwards to marry, secondly, 
Roger de Romara, and not only to have a son by him (old 
enough, be it remarked, to assert his rights in 1122) but also to 
marry, thirdly, Ranulph Earl of Chester, and to have four more 

* Ingulphus ; Annales de Peterborough, Monasticon, vol. i. 
p. 306; Registrum de Spalding; and Genealogia Fundatorum 
de Coventry, ibid. p. 304. 

f The Annals of Peterborough name the year 1074 as the 
date when Ivo de Tailboys made Spalding a cell to the Abbey 
of St. Nicholas at Angers. 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 71 

children. This plain review of dates, chiefly taken from the 
Croyland chroniclers themselves, shows that this story of one 
Lucia and her three marriages, all fruitful, and the last the 
most so, at a time when she must have become advanced in 
years, is physically impossible. 

There can therefore be little doubt that there were two 
Lucias, the second the daughter of the first ; whilst the monk 
Peter's account of the brief widowhood of his single Lucy, 
and her "moderate lamentations," which has been quoted in p. 
52, must fall to the ground between the two, as historical, or 
rather poetical, embellishment ; together with his statement 
that " she was much honoured by her husband's elder brother, 
William Earl of Lincoln," which is equally imaginary, as there 
was no such Earl until after her own death, twenty-seven years 
after the alleged period of her marriage. It is, however, remark- 
able that the same writer speaks of "an only daughter, nobly 
espoused," but whom he could not more particularly describe. 
That only daughter was evidently the Countess Lucia herself; 
and therefore it was that no other name had ever reached him. 
This Lucia, " only daughter " of Yvo Tailboys and the Saxon 
heiress, was married, first to Robert Fitz Gerold de Roumare, 
already noticed, and by him had issue William de Romara, 
afterwards Earl of Lincoln. After Robert's death she was 
married, secondly, to Ranulph de Briquesard, also called le 
Meschin, Vicomte du Bessin, who in 1120 became Earl of 
Chester, and by him had issue, Ranulph II. Earl of Chester, 
surnamed Gernons* ; another son, William, who is said to have 
been created Earl of Cambridge in 1153 ; and two daughters, 
Alice, married to Richard Fitz Gilbert, ancestor of the Earls of 
Clare ; and Agnes, married to Robert de Grentmesnil, son of 
Hugh de Grenteraesnilf , sheriff of Leicestershire. Earl Ra- 
nulph, the husband of Lucia, died in 1128, and was buried at 
Chester; Lucia survived, and in the Pipe Roll of 31 Henry I. 
her name occurs as owing 100 marks of silver to the King, that 

* From his moustaches ; not, as some say, from the castle of 
his nativity. 

f Ordericus Vitalis, lib. viii. 



72 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

she should not take a husband within five years.* She con- 
firmed the manor of Spalding to the monks; and is said 
to have been buried in the church of that priory, f unless 
we should rather ascribe that circumstance to the former 
Lucy, whose husband, Yvo Tailboys, had been proviously 
interred at Spalding. The death of the Countess of Chester is 
placed in 1 148. 

We shall now proceed to trace the history of William de 
Romara, Earl of Lincoln. It was not long after the 
period when he had rendered such efficient services to King 
Henry I., in the suppression of the Norman rebellion, that he 
was himself instigated, by a sense of injustice, to throw off his 
allegiance. After the death of Richard the youthful Earl of 
Chester, who was lost with the King's sons in the fatal ship- 
wreck in 1120, already alluded to in p. 54, that Earldom was 
granted to Ranulph de Bayeux, the nephew of the preceding 
Earl, Hugh, and the step -father of William de Romara. In 
exchange for the Earldom, if we may credit Ordericus Vitalis, 
Ranulph surrendered to the King a considerable part of the 
inheritance of his wife Lucy; thus sacrificing to his own 
aggrandizement the interests of the young heir of Romara » 
whereupon, says Orderic, "William de Romara demanded of 
the King the return of his mother's land, and also of another 
possession in England called Corfe ; J but the King did not 

* " Ne capiat virum infra v. annos." She also accounted for 
s€266. 13?. id. for her father s land ; and for 45 marks to be 
given to whom the King pleased, of which the Queen had 20 ; 
and she owed 100 marks that she might have the privilege of 
administering justice in her court among her vassals. — Pipe 
Roll, 31 Hen. L 8vo. 1833, p. 1 10. 

\ Genealogy of the Saxon Earls in Mon. Ang. i. 504. 

I " Cormam " in the printed copies of Ordericus Vitalis ; but 
it is " Corviam " in the original MS. preserved in the library of 
Alencon. The amended reading (for which also we are in- 
debted to Mr. Stapleton) furnishes at once a corroboration of 
the descent of William de Romara from Robert Fitz Girold, 
and a correction of considerable importance to the history of 
Dorsetshire. At the Domesday survey Robert Fitz Girold 
held " Corf." Hutchins, the historian of the county, supposed 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 73 

comply with his demand, and besides answered him with re- 
proaches." On this the youth, much enraged, went immediately 
over to Normandy, and placing himself in the castle ofNeuf- 
march£, where he had previously so successfully maintained the 
King's interests, he eagerly renewed the flame of rebellion on 
behalf of the King's nephew William, son of Duke Robert Curt- 
hose. Nor were his military operations less successful than 
before 5 for he continued his hostilities for two years, "nor ceased 
until the King had given him competent satisfaction,* and re- 
stored to him a great portion of the right which he had demanded." 
Such is the account given by Orderic when first mentioning the 
subject ; and, on recurring to it, he particularly mentions the 
event of " William de Romara being honourably reconciled to the 
King, and thenceforth becoming his familiar messmate and 
friend." It is then that Orderic mentions that the King gave him 
for a wife Matilda, the daughter of Richard de Redversf— the 

that u this must relate to Corfe Mullen, for Corfe Castle was 
then in the Crown (though not mentioned in Domesday Book) 
and not granted away till several ages after." (Hist, of Dorset, 
i. 276, iii. 38.) It certainly seems extraordinarj^ that Hutch- 
ins should have adopted this notion, involving the two impro- 
bable circumstances, that so important a place as Corfe Castle 
should not be noticed in Domesday Book, and that Corfe 
Mullen, which never became a parish, and is an insignificant 
hamlet of Stourminster Marshal, should have consisted of ten 
carucates, and have been of the yearly value of [51. There can 
now be no further question that the castle of Corfe, and its 
surrounding demesnes, had been granted out previously to the 
Norman survey to Robert Fitz Girold, and resumed prior to 
any other record except that so unexpectedly furnished by 
Ordericus Vitalis. 

* It is probable that Henry did not restore him Corfe, &c. 
but compensated him with a grant of other lands ; perhaps, inter 
alia, Cleeve. 

t " quae" he adds, <( filium ei speciosum nomine Guillelmum 
Heliam peperit." Such a compound name would be very ex- 
traordinary ; but it has evidently been an error of the copyist, 
and Mr. Stapleton has suggested, not improbably, that it should 
be " Willielmam et filium [sc. Rohesiam] peperit." In a pre- 
vious passage of Ordericus, is a similar confusion of two 
brothers (where the children of the Earl of Chester are men- 
tioned ) : "Guillelmum fet] Rannulfum." Here Ranulph 
should come first. 



74 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

error of a name which, as already noticed, has contributed so 
much to confuse this pedigree ; after which the Monk proceeds 
to remark, that " the said Knight was in his youth unsteady, and 
too much addicted to pleasure ; but, being stricken from heaven 
with a very grievous sickness, and having conversed with 
Geoffrey the Archbishop (of Rouen, from 1111 to 1128), he 
vowed to God to amend his life. And then on retiring to Neuf- 
marche, after his recovery, he placed seven monks in the church 
of St. Peter, instead of the four canons previously serving, 
considerably enlarged their endowment, and rebuilt the church 
and monastic houses." 

It has been stated, that the death of the Countess Lucy has 
been assigned to the year 1141 ; and Brooke asserts that 
William de Romara "was created Earl of Lincolne in the sixth 
yeare of King Stephen," which dates agree. Though Brooke 
cites no authority for his statement, and though it was not 
adopted by Dugdale, there seems reason to suppose that he was 
Earl at that time if not before ; and it may be imagined that the 
seizure of the castle of Lincoln, with which the rebellion of 1 140 
was commenced, was connected with his assertion of those rights 
which he deemed to have devolved upon him upon his mother's 
death. The account of this event which is given by Ordericus 
Vitalis deserves our attention from its immediate reference to 
his personal history, and from the circumstance of himself and 
wife being styled Comes and Comitissa, though without the title 
of Lincoln being directly mentioned. 

" The castle of Lincoln," says Ordericus, " was in Stephen's 
own possession, when Ranulph Earl of Chester and William de 
Romara his uterine brother, seized upon it by stratagem. 
Craftily finding a time when the servants of the fortress were 
scattered abroad, they sent before them their wives into the 
tower as if for the sake of pleasure. And so, whilst the two 
Countesses continued their visit, playing and conversing with the 
wife of the Knight who was in charge, the Earl of Chester came 
unarmed, and without his coat of mail, as if to bring his wife 
away, followed by three Knights, no one suspecting any harm. 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 75 

Thus having effected an entrance, they suddenly seized the crow- 
bars and arras that lay near, and violently ejected the King's 
guards. Then William, and armed Knights with him, arrived 
as had been before arranged. And so the two brothers sub- 
dued the castle, with the whole city, to themselves." 

This occurrence took place shortly before Christmas in the 
year 1140 ; soon after which Stephen arrived, and invested the 
city. At this time, "the two Earls, with their wives and 
familiar friends, were within the castle ; " but after a time, the 
Earl of Chester, who " was the younger, and more ready, and 
exceedingly bold,"* came out by night, and set out to his own 
vassals in the county of Chester. There he lost no time in as- 
sembling an army, which, with the aid of his father-in-law Robert 
Earl of Gloucester, he brought to Lincoln in time to relieve his 
besieged brother, and gave the King battle on Sexagesima Sun- 
day, Feb. 2, 1114. In this conflict Stephen was taken prisoner. 
Among his companions in misfortune was a youthful Baron, 
named Gilbert de Gant, a great-grandson of Baldwin Count 
of Flanders, the brother-in-law of the Conqueror. The victori- 
ous Earl of Chester took advantage of the opportunity to form 
a favourable alliance for the daughter of William de Romara. 
It is stated by John of Hexham that Earl Ranulph "compelled" 
this illustrious youth to marry his niece. The injury inflicted 
was not upon the house of Gant, but upon that of Romara ; for, 
in consequence of this alliance, Gilbert de Gant shortly after- 
wards obtained the Earldom of Lincoln, and, although the race 
of Romara continued, it did not return to them. 

The next circumstance to be noticed in the life of William 
de Romara is his foundation of the abbey of Revesby in the 
county of Lincoln j which was about the year 1 143. f His 
wife and son united with him in the foundation charter, under 
the style of " Willielmus de Romara, Comes de Lincolnia, et 
Willielmus filius ejus, et Hawdewisa Comitissa uxor ejus." 

William the son died before his father. His decease is re- 

* — " junior erat et facilior, et audacissimus." 
f The Annals of Peterborough say 1142, those of Lowth 
Park 1143, and the MS. Cotton. Tiberius E. vm. (belonging 
to Cleeve Abbey) the eighth year of King Stephen. 



76 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

corded under the year 1152, by the Norman historian Robert 
de Monte, who adds that he left two sons (the name* of the 
second was Robert*) by a daughter of the Earl of Albemarle. 

The register of Fountains Abbey states that the fourth 
daughter of Stephen Earl of Albemarle was married first to 
William de Romara, and afterwards to Peter de Bras. The 
lady's Christian name is still deficient ; but it may be supplied 
with that of Agnes.f 

In ] 153, the year after his son's death, we find a charter of 
"William de Romara, Earl of Lincoln," dated at Rouen, by 
which he remitted to the Abbey of St. Ouen in that city the 

* " Carta Will, de RumaredeClive: test. Roberto fratre meo," 
to Exeter priory. Collectanea Top. et Geneal. vol. i. p. 186. 

f This is the lady, to whom, as before noticed, Brooke trans- 
ferred the name of Hawise, which was continued by Dugdale ; 
but the latter, in his account of the family of Brus, (Baronage, 
vol. i. p. 449,) gives to Peter de Brus, who died 1211, besides 
Joan, the mother of his family, as "his other wife," "Agnes, 
widow of William de Romara, Earl of Lincoln." His only 
authority for this is " Mon. Ang. i. 797, n. 60," that is, the 
Register of Fountains, which, however, furnishes no Christian 
name, and does not give William de Romara any title of Earl. 
It is possible that the real source of Dugdale's information 
was this passage in the Historia de Melsa, caput 11, — "caru- 
catam in Erghes inter North Dalton et Wartre, ubi grangiam 
Blanchmarl, Latine Albainarla, confirmavit Will'mus de Row- 
mar, Comes Lincoln, et Agnes de Albemarlia uxor ejus." 
Although the title of " Comes Lincoln " is incorrect, there can 
be no doubt that the writer had seen the charter by which 
the grange of Blanchmarl had been conveyed to the monastery, 
and had thence taken the name of Agnes. It may therefore be 
considered as originally derived from an authentic source ; but 
it was applied by Dugdale in a manner very wide of the truth : 
this Peter de Brus died in 1211, and even his grandfather in 
1161, nine years after the death of William de Romara the 
younger. By the kindness of Mr. Stapleton, I am again fur- 
nished with a most important correction to Dugdale ; showing 
that the second husband of Agnes was a collateral Peter, 
remaining at Bruis, now Brix (the cradle of the royal house of 
Scotland, near Valognes, in the diocese of Coutance), and who 
was living at the very time required. From a cartulary (now 
in the possession of Monsieur C. de Gerville, of Valognes), of 
St. Sauveur-le-Vicomte, an abbey not far from Brix, Mr. Sta- 
pleton has extracted two charters, dated 1153 and 1155, re- 
cording that Peter de Bruis, the son of William, gave to that 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 77 

hawk which was yearly due to him, and the pint of wine * and 
two loaves which were due to him daily as often as he stayed 
in Rouen, f 

With the highly excited feelings of religious contrition, of 
which so many examples are found among the headstrong 
chieftains of that violent age, Earl William appears to have 
evinced many tokens of zealous devotion in his latter years. 

The event of his making a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. 
James in Galicia, is recorded by a deed of gift from his brother 
the Earl of Chester, being dated " in the year of his return." \ 

The religious fervency of his deathbed was demonstrated by 
his being made a monk when in extremis, — a custom, indeed, 
then usual, and also performed, about the same time, in 
the case of his cousin Walter of Salisbury, the founder of 
Bradenstoke. The date of the Earl of Lincoln's decease is not 
known, but it probably ensued shortly after 1153 ; and he was 
buried in his abbey of llevesby, § as his son had been before 

abbey, inter alia, the church of Bruis, " precepto et voluntate 
Adam de Bruis sui d'ni et cognati." The following table will 
show his relationship, in the fifth degree only, to Dugdale's 
Peter : 

l 1 

Robert de Brus, d. 1 141. William de Brus. 

i i 

Adam de Brus, d. 1161. Peter de=Agnes = William 

Brus, ofAl- de Romara, 

Adam de Brus, d. 1185. living bemarle. d. 1152. 

| 1153. 

Peter de Brus, d. 1211. 

* " Dimidium sextarii." 

t Histoirede l'Abbaye de St Ouen, par Pommeraye, p. 428. 

+ Ormerod's Cheshire, i. 25. The Countess Hawise is witness. 

§ «« — in extremis factus monachus, jacet apud Revesby." 
Genealogy of the Saxon Earls, before quoted, in the Monasti- 
con, i. 304. The remainder of the same account, relating to the 
genealogy of the family of Romara, is far from being cor- 
rect : " Post cujus obitum Willielmus de Romara films [lege 
nepos] Luciae Comitissae ex Rogero, de Rogero de Romara 
(ita) obtinuit a Rege Henrico Secundo omnes terras quon- 
dam Willielmi de Romara patrui [lege avi] sui, et fundavit 



78 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

him, and his grandson was at a subsequent period. A monastic 
pedigree, of no very remote antiquity, * has preserved their 
epitaphs. The Earl's tomb was before the high altar, and 
inscribed with " these verses : " 

" Hie jacet in tumba Willielmus de Romare, Comes Lin- 
colniae, fundator istius monasterii sancti Laurencii de Rewisby." 
The son's tomb was on the north side of his father's: 
"Hie jacet in tumba Willielmus de Romare Alius Willielmi 
Comitis Lincolniae, qui ante patrem obiit sicut Deus voluit." 
On the south side of the first was a third, inscribed : 
" Hie jacet in tumba Willielmus de Romare, Jilius Lucia 
Comitissa: Lincolnice, f fundator monasterii beatae Mariae de 
Clyve." 

A few words may now be said of the Countess Hawise, the 
wife of Earl William de Romara, whose marriage has been 
noticed from Ordericus Vitalis, under the erroneous name of 
Matilda. In a monastic pedigree of the founders of Christ- 
church Twynham, she is duly mentioned among the children 
of Richard de Redvers, Lord of Tiverton and Christchurch, 
and Adeliza his wife, as " Hadwysam de Romara Comitissam 
Lincolniae." % Besides the mention of her name in the founda- 

monasterium de Cliva, et moriens sine sobole jacet apud 
Revesby ; Ranulphusque Comes Cestrise frater ejus obtinuit a 
Rege Johanne omnes terras suas." In the last clause the word 
" frater " is so far wrong as applied to the Ranulph Earl of 
Chester living in the reign of King John, who it is true became 
Earl of Lincoln in 1216, that he was grandson of that Earl 
Ranulph, who was half-brother to the founder of Cleeve's grand- 
father ; so that in fact they were second cousins instead of 
brothers. 

* Dugdale's Monasticon, i. 530, from MS. Cotton. Tiberius, 
E. viii. f. 208 a. There are now no remains of the abbey 
church of Revesby; but the site has in modern times become 
t( classic ground " as the residence of the late Sir Joseph Banks, 
Pres. R.S. 

f These words must have been interpolated, either by the 
writer in his manuscript, or by the monks, through ignorance, 
on the stone. 

J Monasticon Anglicanum, vol. ii. p. 179. Her father is 
there incorrectly styled Earl of Devon, which he never was; his 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 79 

tion charter of Revesby already noticed, it occurs also as the 
first witness to a charter of the Earl to the abbey of Nevvhouse '> 
and, by the title of " Hawysia Comitissa de Romare," she gave 
the advowson of Feltham in Middlesex to the hospital of St. 
Giles's in the Fields. * 

There is ample evidence that Gilbert de Gant became the 
next Earl of Lincoln, though the date of his accession is un- 
known. There appears to be some reason to suspect that 
William de Romara was deprived of his Earldom by Stephen 
when he regained his ascendancy, and that Gilbert de Gant, 
who was a steady adherent of the King, was rewarded with it. 
The Priory of Rufford was founded by the latter either in 
1146 or 1148; in his foundation charter he styles himself Earl 
of Lincoln. 

In the chronicle of Vaudey, Gilbert Earl of Lincoln is stated 
to have made a grant at the request of Eugenius " the Roman 
Bishop" (1145-1153) and Bernard Abbat of Clairvaux.f In 
the cartulary of Kirkstead is a charter of " Roheis the wife of 
Gilbert Earl of Lincoln," done in the presence of Robert 
Bishop of Lincoln, after her husband's death. At the same 
time her daughter Alicia was the wife of Simon Earl of 
Northampton. J 

Among the charters of Bridlington priory is a curious cove- 
son Baldwin was not yet an Earl in 1138 (see Ordericus Vitalis). 
This is another instance of the caution required in following 
monkish genealogies. The surname of Redvers, it may be 
here remarked, was derived from the castle of Reviers near 
Bayeux. 

* Her brother Earl Baldwin de Redvers gave land at 
Feltham to the same foundation, and Pope Alexander con- 
firmed the two gifts together in the following words : " eccl'iam 
de Feltham, et t'ram qua' h'ent in eadem villa de donacione 
Comitis Baldewini de Redmero et Comitissae Hawysiae." (Par- 
ton's History of St. Giles's, p. 8, note.) 

f G. Hollis's collections, vol. v, p. 526, MS. Lansd. 207 E. 

J See three charters, evidently executed at the same time. 

1. of Roheis wife of Gilbert Earl of Lincoln ; 2. of Simon Earl 

of Northampton ; 3. of Alicia Countess of Northampton j in the 

Kirkstead cartulary, MS. Cotton. Vesp. F. xur, f. 99b, et seq. 



80 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

nant of Earl Gilbert, binding himself to be buried at that 
monastery, where he was born and brought up, His daughter 
the Countess Alicia was also buried there. 

There is also a charter of the first Gilbert Earl of Lincoln 
to the Priory of Bridlington, which is witnessed by his brother 
Robert, who became the successor to his barony, though not 
to the Earldom ; and there is a confirmation charter from 
King Stephen, to the Priory of Ruiford, granted in the lifetime 
of his son Eustace, who died in 1152. Stephen died in 1154, 
and Earl Gilbert himself in 1157. (Robert de Monte.) 

We have seen that Earl William de Romara was alive at 
Rouen in 1153. It is probable that he took refuge in Normandy 
with the other adherents of the House of Anjou ; and, though 
he might not live to feel the effects of Henry's gratitude, yet 
we shall see hereafter that his grandson was brought up by 
that monarch. 

This is one view of the circumstances which introduced Gil- 
bert de Gant to the acquisition of the Earldom of Lincoln. 
But if it was on the death of his father-in-law that he attained 
to that dignity, we must attribute his accession to the previous 
decease of his brother-in-law the second William de Romara, 
and the infant years of the grandson and heir male, who, as a 
child, could not be girded with the sword of the County. 

In either case, the third William de Romara was never re- 
stored to his ancestral dignity. The next person recorded to 
have borne the title of Earl of Lincoln was a second Gilbert de 
Gant, the nephew of the former; but so far was he from having 
ft succeeded ; ' his uncle, as stated in some works on the peer- 
age, that it was after an interview of sixty years ; and he held 
the title for a period still shorter than the former. If the first 
was introduced by the sovereign will of Stephen, overruling the 
ordinary laws of inheritance, the second was obtruded by a still 
less competent authority, — the invader Louis of France. This 
was in the last year of the reign of John : and in the next year, 
1216, he was taken prisoner at the battle then fought at Lin- 
coln, and his brief career as an Earl was thereupon closed ; the 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 77 # 

dignity being transferred to Ranulph Earl of Chester the great- 
grandson and representative of the first Ranulph and the 
Countess Lucia, who was evidently then considered to have 
been the heiress of the dignity, and to have transmitted it to 
her posterity. 

That William de Romara " the third"* was really the 
grandson of the Earl of Lincoln, and that he inherited a con- 
siderable landed estate, is proved by the confirmation charter 
which he gave to the abbey of Revesby, in which he styled 
himself " nepos Willielmi Comitis, et haeres ejus." This is 
dated in the year 1172. " Nepos," in this document, cannot be 
translated nephew, as it is accompanied by " avus," which 
always signifies grandfather. 

Still more complete is the view of the family which is given 
by one of his charters to Spalding, in which, styling himself 
" the grandson and heir of William Earl of Romara " he confirms 
for the souls of himself and Philippa his wife, the gifts of Lucia 
Countess of Chester, the mother of William Earl of Romara 
his grandfather, mentioning at the same time the successive 
lords of Spalding, Ivo Tailboys, Roger Fitz-Gerold, and Earl 
Ranulph. This charter was witnessed by Hugh Abbat of 
Revesby .f From a second charter to the same monastery, we 
find he had another wife named Alicia. % 

It is stated by Brooke in his Catalogue, but without assign- 
ing any authority, that William de Romare the third died with- 
out issue in 1175; but it will be seen that that date is more 
than twenty years too early. 

He is mentioned by the continuator of the Annals of Croy- 
land, under the year 1191, as the familiar and sworn friend of 
Earl John§ (or, as we should now style him, Prince John) after- 

* Placitorum Abbreviatio, p. 75. 

f Cartulary formerly belonging to Beaupre Bell, esq. f. 136 ; 
tr anscript in Cole's collections, vol. xliii. (MS. Add. Brit. Mus. 
58 44) p. 148. 

% Ibid. f. 331 a ; p. 377. 

§ " Comiti Johanni valde familiaris et jam juratus." 

F 9 



78* ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 

wards King. The Abbat of Croyland was a brother of William 
de Longchamp the Bishop of Ely and Lord Chancellor, whom 
King Richard, on leaving England for the crusade, had left 
Justice of the Kingdom. As John Earl of Morton headed a 
party opposed to the Chancellor, so William de Romare took 
the same occasion to prosecute an old dispute which had sub- 
sisted between the abbeys of Croyland and Spalding (of which 
latter he was the hereditary founder), relative to their rights of 
property in Croyland marsh. The monastic historian gives a 
graphic description of the scene which took place at the trial 
in London on Ascension day 1192, when Earl John, and his 
courtiers, as well as William de Romare, were present. The 
latter asserted that the Abbey of Croyland was in his fee ; 
although, says the monk, " it was founded and made a royal 
abbey before any of his race tvas knoxun *." Earl John denied 
the authority of a charter of his brother King Richard ; because 
he declared that the Abbat had procured it from his brother 
the Chancellor, through private favour ; but when John had 
heard read another charter of his father King Henry, then, 
says the chronicler, he was abashed. 

Dugdale has noticed, from the Pipe Roll of 9 Rich. I. that 
William de Romara was then with the King in Normandy ; and 
the same year, which was 1197-8, has been assigned to his 
foundation of the Abbey of Cleeve, in Somersetshire,f though 
there seems reason to date it seven or eight years earlier.:}: It was 

* " Iste et W. cum aliquando super hoc a Comite J. depre- 
caretur, respondisse fertur, Domine dilecte Will, centum libra- 
rum in justitiam facerem et pro amore tuo." The construction 
is obscure ; but the meaning seems to be that Earl John was 
ready to be fined 100Z. from his regard to his friend William. 

f MS. Cotton. Tiberius, E. vin. fol. 208 a. 

J There are (in the Monasticon) two foundation charters of 
Cleeve granted by William de Romara ; to the first of which 
Reinald Bishop of Bath is a witness, who died before the end 
of 1191 ; and the latter is addressed to King Richard, whose 
accession was in 1 189. In the Annals of Waverly it is recorded 
under the year 1188, that Waleran Abbat of Cleeve then 
resigned his abbacy, and Alan of Bordesley succeeded him ; if 
so, the foundation must have been prior to that year : Hugh, 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PEDIGREE OF ROMARA. 79 # 

founded, says his charter, "for the health and the soul of his lord 
Richard King of England, for the soul of King Henry his 
father, my lord who brought me up {qui me nutrivit), for those 
of all the King's ancestors and heirs, for his own soul, that of 
his wife Philippa, and the souls of all their ancestors, heirs, and 
successors." His wife Philippa is stated in the Monasticon,* 
to have been one of the daughters of Hubert de Burgh, Earl 
of Kent -, but such statement is clearly unfounded. She was 
the daughter of John Comte d'Alencon, by Beatrix daughter of 
Elias d' Anjou Comte de Maine, and Philippa de Perche ; which 
latter Philippa was a daughter of Rotrou first Comte de Perche, 
and his first wife Matilda, natural daughter of Henry I. King of 
England. This is shown by a charter of the priory of Graville, 
to which she gave in August 1214 the chapel of St. Mary la 
Salle in the parish of Montaigu near Valognes, in the 
diocese of Coutances.f 

After the death of the last William, without issue, his inheri- 
tance appears to have devolved on the Earl of Chester, whose 
son afterwards obtained the Earldom of Lincoln, having de- 
feated in 1216, as already stated, the second Earl Gilbert de 
Gant, a rebel to the King, but perhaps more unequivocally a 
rival to himself. J. G. N. 

the Abbat of Revesby, by whom it was constructed, held that 
dignity in 11*2, as appears by a charter of that date in the 
Monasticon. 

* Vol. i. p. 531. 

f c< Henricus Constantiensis Antistes ann. 1214 confirmavit 
donationem praefatae Heroinse Philippse de Romara." Neustria 
Pia, p. 864, where for " Henricus" read Hugo ; but the same 
passage has led to a much more extraordinary error in the Gallia 
Christiana, vol. xi. p. 878, the ornamental epithet Heroina being 
there converted into a Christian name for the Countess of 
Alencon her mother ! 



It may be mentioned that in the same cartulary of St. Sau- 
veur-le-Vicomte (quoted in 76), is a charter of Adelicia, sister 
of Agnes, and wife first of Robert Bertrand, Baron of Briquebec, 
a neighbouring castle to Brix, and secondly of Engelger de 
Bohun, one of the heads of the party of Geoffrey Count of An- 
jou in the Cotentin, in the struggle with Stephen. 

f 10 



80* 



CHAPTER IV. 

Ela of Salisbury, the Foundress of Lacock Abbey— Corona- 
tions of Richard Cceur de Lion — Ela's concealment in Nor- 
mandy — her discovery by a Troubadour Knight, and deli- 
very to King Richard. 

Enough of the stern Conqueror and his fierce 
and iron-mailed Barons : enough of the intricate 
mazes of their early genealogy : of Walter le Ewrus, 
and Humphridus cum Barba ! Farewell to the 
Earls of Salisbury of the first House ! Our atten- 
tion must now be directed to their orphan heiress, 
deprived of her father at eight years of age, and 
carried away a captive exile to a foreign land. 

She was born at Amesbury, about seven miles 
from Old Sarum,* in 1188. Her father died in 
1196 ; and, until that fatal event, Ela was doubt- 
less reared, not only with care, but in princely 
state, within her native county of Wilts. Earl 
William, her father, was one of the most dis- 

* Amesbury was distinguished by its nunnery, remarkable for 
its succession of Royal nuns, among whom were Isabella of Lan- 
caster, prioress in 1202, and Mary daughter of King Edward I. 
Part of the parish, however, was retained by the Earls of Salis- 
bury, as we find two manors, Amesbury Priorisse, and Ames- 
bury Comitis ; for the latter of which, Earl William Longespe 
obtained the grant of a weekly market in 1219. (Clause Rolls.) 
As Oxford castle had its boiver at Woodstock, so the ladies, 
boxver of Salisbury castle may have been at Amesbury. 



THE FATHER OF ELA. 81 

tinguished subjects of the chivalric Richard ; and 
evidently possessed a high place in the royal favour. 
He took a prominent part at both the Coronations 
of the Lion-hearted King. At the first, which was 
solemnized with great state at Westminster, Sept. 
3, 1189, when each of the great Earls of the King- 
dom occupied some prominent post in the ceremony, 
the Earl of Salisbury carried the Verge or Rod, 
having a dove upon its summit. At the second, 
which took place at Winchester, April 18, 1194, 
after Richard's return from his captivity in Ger- 
many, he was one of the four Earls who bore the 
canopy, namely, the Earls of Norfolk, the Isle of 
Wight (another style for the Earl of Devonshire), 
Salisbury, and Ferrers.^ 

In the same year, the Earl of Salisbury was also 
constituted keeper of the king's charter, or grant, 
for licensing Tournaments throughout the country, 
and was thus placed in a situation of the greatest 
responsibility in that age of chivalry. One of the 
five " steads," or fields then appointed for the exer- 
cise of tournaments in England, was situated be- 
tween Salisbury and Wilton ; and on that spot ? 
when a child, the future Abbess of Lacock may 

* Roger de Hoveden. Though frequently called a corona- 
tion by historians, the solemnity at Winchester was not at- 
tended by the ceremonies usually practised at the primary 
coronations of English sovereigns • which accounts for the Earl 
of Salisbury not being required to perform the same service as 
before, or one of similar prominence. 

G 



82 TOURNAMENTS AT SALISBURY. 

have first witnessed the perilous gaieties of knightly 
enterprise, and those proud exhibitions of personal 
courage and external splendour and gallantry. 

Perhaps in all England could not have been found 
a spot more appropriate for the purpose of these 
" high heroic" games. The situation is well known, 
on the downs in front of the castle : the description 
of it, recently written by Mr. Hatcher, may here be 
introduced, on account of its accuracy and anima- 
tion. 

" Two vallies obliquely intersecting the tongue 
of land between the Bath and Devizes roads, offered 
situations for the purpose, as if formed by art, where 
ample space was afforded for the lists, and where 
thousands of spectators might have been accommo- 
dated without difficulty or danger. Those who have 
been transported back in idea, to the period of which 
we treat, by the vivid description of the tournaments 
in the Romance of Ivanhoe, can scarcely survey this 
ground without picturing to themselves the impres- 
sive effect of an assemblage, so varied, interesting, 
and magnificent, on the elevated down, in full view 
of the majestic fortress of Old Sarum on one hand, 
of Wilton and its venerable abbey on the other, and 
overlooking the rich and smiling bourns of the 
Avon and the Nadder *. w 

Such was the scene on which Ela in her childhood 
might have gazed, when animated with arms, and 
banners, and all the concourse of chivalry; and we 

* Hatcher's Account of Salisbury, 1834, p. 29. 



YOUTHFUL CAPTIVITY OF ELA. 83 

may imagine that a monarch like Richard would 
have rejoiced thus to celebrate her nuptials with his 
noble brother, had he lived to return to England 
after having bestowed her hand on William of the 
Long Sword. But, whilst still a child, on losing the 
protection of her father, this richly portioned heiress 
was suddenly snatched from the scenes familiar to 
her infancy, and subjected to a jealous seclusion in 
a foreign country. 

All that is said in the Book of Lacock respecting 
this captivity of the maid of Salisbury, is this : 
" When Ela was now deprived of both her father 
and mother, she was secretly taken into Normandy 
by her relations, and there brought up in close and 
secret custody," # Who those relations were we 
are left to conjecture. It proves, however, to be a 
mistake that Ela's mother died before the Earl, for 
she was living eighteen years after ;-f- and it is there- 
fore probable that they were her mother and her 
mother's family, whose estates were either in Nor- 
mandy or Champaign, and who could readily have 
found thereon a place of concealment for the heiress. 
This discovery seems to me unexpectedly to throw 
a most interesting light on her confinement. Let 
it be remembered that Ela had three uncles, the 

* " Ela, patre et matre orbata, clam per cognatos et notos 
adducta fuit in Normanniam, et ibidem sub tuta et arcta cus- 
todia nutrita." 

t See the record quoted in the Appendix to this chapter, 
p. 99 ; where will be found further particulars respecting her. 

g2 



84 THE UNCLES OF ELA. 

eldest of whom must have been interested — deeply 
interested — as the presumed heir of his brother 
Earl William, to his immense possessions, and high 
hereditary rank and honours, had not one infant 
daughter stood in his way. Where was He ? In 
some accounts of the family it is stated that two 
of the brothers, Philip and Patrick, were monks in 
the abbey founded by their grandfather and father 
at Bradenstoke. This circumstance cannot now be 
traced to any ancient record, but is so stated in 
the old Peerage by Brooke. # 

But in the document we have before spoken of/f~ 
it is stated not only that Ela's uncles Patrick and 
Philip were bred as monks at Bradenstoke ; but 
that they exchanged the frock for the cuirass ; that 

* In Vincent's pedigree (B. 2, Coll. Arm.) the two brothers 
who were Canons of Bradenstoke are named Walter and Wil- 
liam, and placed in the preceding generation. It is worthy of 
remark that in Watson's •' Memoirs of the Earls of Warren 
and Surrey," we find another fate ascribed to Philip, but 
equally 'without perceptible authority. Among the Couutess 
Alianor's children are named — " Patrick and Philip, both 
monks in the priory of Bradenstoke," and in a note it is added, 
" These monks are said to have been slain at this priory! " 
(p. 137.) In a charter of their half-sister Isabella Countess of 
Warren (witnesses Earl Hameline, R. Archdeacon of Surrey, 
and P. the Dean,) she directs the Canons of Southwark to 
pray for the souls of William, Patrick, and Philip her brothers. 
(Ibid. p. 164.) Her brother Walter therefore was probably 
living at the period of this charter, and Philip dead. (J. G. N.) 

f Pedigree of Devereux, of Carigmenan ; see before, p. 42. 



PHILIP " DEVEREUX." 85 

Patrick was slain in Aquitaine, before the death 
of his brother the Earl ; but that Philip, having 
seen the estates of his family go out of his house, 
went in 1203 to seek other fortunes in Ireland, 
where it is stated that he settled in the county of 
Wexford, and founded the family now bearing the 
surname of Devereux. 

It is true that Earl William had two brothers, 
named Patrick and Philip, besides another named 
Walter ; and it is also clear that Patrick died before 
him, as there is a charter of the Earl, directing the 
monks of Bradenstoke to pray for Patrick's soul, 
which is witnessed by Philip and Walter. But 
there is no positive evidence, beyond the unauthen- 
ticated statement of Brooke, that any of the bro- 
thers were monks of Bradenstoke Priory. 

Nor is there any record of Patrick having been 
slain in Aquitaine ; though we know from history 
that Earl Patrick his grandfather was actually slain 
in Aquitaine ! 

We presume we have shown, in a former chapter, 
that the name of Devereux, as applied to the house 
of Salisbury, had no contemporary existence, but is 
a visionary phantom, and a mere nominis umbrae- 
still, whether there may be complete evidence or 
not, that Ela's uncles, Philip and Patrick, were in 
truth monks of Bradenstoke, certainly no one can 
produce, on the contrary, proof of either having had 
a wife, or any family, (nor, indeed, we must grant, 
of scarcely any other junior brother in the Peerage 
of such very early times,) but when Brooke, in 



8(> PHILIP " DEVEREUX." 

16 19, stated both were monks, can we imagine that 
he knowingly and deliberately stated a falsehood, 
which could answer no purpose, and for which he 
had no authority at all ? — he stated what he had 
some grounds for believing. I conclude, therefore, 
that being younger brothers, without property, wife, 
or family, they might have sought, in the inglorious 
age of John, the congenial habitation of a cloister 
founded by their father and grandfather, and that 
Brooke must have had some authority for the as- 
sertion. 

With respect to the family of Devereux in Ire- 
land, truth has compelled us to show, by documents 
which cannot be shaken, that this name could not 
have appertained to any of the family of Salisbury. 

Of the descent of this family from Philip the 
monk of Bradenstoke, we must leave the document 
as it stands ; only saying, that what is stated in it, 
and from tradition, that Philip on the death of his 
elder brother threw off the cowl, is not inconsistent 
with human nature, with his rank in society, and 
above all with Ela's history. 

Granting the passions, avarice, or ambition, to 
be awakened, let us think of the prize before 
him ! — let us think how often, pacing the solitary 
cloisters of Bradenstoke, he may have scowled on 
his books and beads when he thought, that but for 
his vows, and if this child were removed, he might 
be no longer a poor and obscure monk, but one of 
the most distinguished nobles in the land, with pos- 
sessions equal to his dignity! 



87 

This is not inconsistent with nature ; and, if true, 
would account for her daughter's confinement by an 
anxious and affectionate mother, that she might be 
placed out of reach of those who perhaps might 
have meditated worse than confinement ; though 
it is true that the point of the story in the Book 
of Lacock is that she was removed from the legal 
ivardship of the King her Sovereign, and from his 
prerogative of bestowing her in marriage. 

The same fidelity to truth, which induced me to 
show that the Salisbury family did not bear the 
name of Devereux, has caused me to state the 
history of this family ; to which is added this tra- 
dition, that Philip of Bradenstoke was absolved by 
the Pope from his vows of poverty, when he first 
drew the sword, and stood forward the claimant of 
the honours and wealth of the House of Salisbury. 

Having felt it a duty to say thus much, and leav- 
ing the whole to the reader's consideration, begging 
him to remember that these circumstances are stated 
in the document of the family of Devereux, eo no- 
mine, and of the same ancient religion in Ireland, 
presented to the King at the coronation of George 
the Fourth ; and that it is also stated that Philip 
went to Ireland in 1203. It is remarkable that Ela 
would be just sixteen years of age at that time, and 
marriageable, and in this year, it may be presumed, 
she actually was married ; when every hope of Philip 
must have been by that event completely destroyed, 
if credence be given to the account. 



88 CAPTIVITY OF ELA, 

To return to the captivity of the youthful Ela, as 
related by our only authority, the Book of Lacock. 
It informs us that she was concealed by her " rela- 
tions," who were, it is most probable, her mothers 
family. Immediately upon the inquisition held after 
her father's death, Ela's lands would in due course 
be taken into the possession of the King, as she 
had become a royal ward. But the abstraction of 
her person might probably throw some difficulty 
in the way of the inquisition, or the consequent 
legal proceedings. The sequel of events, which 
arises from these circumstances, is highly charac- 
teristic of the manners of that court, where the 
minstrel monarch, the lion-hearted Richard, presided 
over his train of gallant and chivalric Troubadours. 
An English knight, named William Talbot, under- 
took to discover the place of the youthful heiress's 
concealment ; the idea having been suggested, if the 
fact be admitted, by King Richard's own discovery, 
a few years before, by the minstrel Blondel. 

Assuming the garb of a pilgrim, the gallant Tal- 
bot " passed over into Normandy, and there con- 
tinued his search, wandering to and fro, for the space 
of two years. 1 * When, at length, he had found the 
Lady Ela of Salisbury, he exchanged his pilgrim's 
dress for that of a Harper or travelling Troubadour, 
and in that guise entered the Court ~}~ in which the 
maid was detained. As he sustained to perfection his 

* Dugdale, in his Baronage, incorrectly says " months/' in- 
stead of " years." 
f " Curiam/' 



THE TROUBADOUR. 87* 

character of a gleeman*, and was excellently versed 
in the gests, or historical lays, recounting the deeds of 
former times, the stranger was kindly received, and 
soon treated as one of the household. At last, his 

* " Homo jocosus." Talbot seems to have been one of the 
jongleurs of Richard's social board. These are the affectionate 
terms in which the joyous King speaks of two of his minstrels — 
" Chail and Pensavin, my minstrels and my friends — you, whom 
I have loved, and whom I shall ever love ! by your songs," &c. 
Amid the stern and bloody scenes of the crusades, the Trouba- 
dours seem to have interposed their music, like the songs of the 
dove and nightingale, the most common similitudes of their 
tender or gallant strains. How exquisite an incense is con- 
tained in the few words of William Cabestaing. Speaking of 
his lady he says, •« Would you know her name ? it is written 
in the fairest characters, on the wing of every dove!" What 
is there in Ovid so tender, so fanciful, as the following kind 
of apologue to his mistress of Peter d'Auvergne? 

" < Go, sweet nightingale, go to the beauty I adore ; tell her 
my feelings, and acquaint thyself with hers ; let her charge thee 
to tell me, she forgets me not. Do not stay ; fly fast back, and 
bring me word what thou hast heard; for I have neither parent 
nor friend in the world, from whom I so much wish to receive 
intelligence.' The pretty bird departs ; he flies gaily along, 
inquiring every where, till he finds my fair one. On the view 
of her he begins those melting sounds, which he warbles forth 
on beholding the star of the evening. On a sudden he becomes 
silent, and reflects in what manner he should obtain her notice; 
then perching near her, he speaks thus : — < Your loyal friend 
has dispatched me to you, to pour forth those notes that may 
please and delight you. What shall I tell him, when he comes 
breathless to meet me at my return ? If he receives a favourable 
answer, you ought to feel an equal joy, since he loves you more 
than ever; — but you are silent. I perceive that my message is 
ill received. Your friend, I protest to you, places all his happi- 

G 5* 



88* DISCOVERY OF ELA. 

chivalric undertaking was fully accomplished ; when, 
having found a convenient opportunity for returning 

ness in your love ! Why do you pause ? Embrace love whil e 
it is offered ; seize the happy moment ; it is a flower that swiftly 
fades away ! ' 

" The lady thus replied : — i Your pretty bird came directly to 
me j your message I received with joy ; he will assure you, my 
kind friend, that your absence afflicts me much ; for no one in- 
terests me like yourself: but you quitted me too soon; and 
had I foreseen your absence, you would not have received such 
proofs of my regard. I now regret my past tenderness. My 
heart is so penetrated with love, that I am always melancholy, 
alwajs sighing for the object of my affection. When with him 
I live in joy ! I would not change him for aught the world can 
bestow. I wait with impatience to behold him. True love, like 
gold, continues always refining ; mine for you is always increas_ 
ing. Gentle bird, depart ; tell him how much I love him ! tell 
it him in thy sotfest tone. Fly • make haste. — What ! art thou 
not yet gone'^ ' " 

This is what Mrs. Dobson, the translator, calls the simple 
style I The various feats expected from these Jongleurs — ho- 
mines jocosi — are related by the Troubadour GirardCalanson : — 
" ' Learn to do well, speak well, and rhime well, and to con- 
trive amusing games. Learn to play on the tabor, and the 
cymbals, and make symphony resound. Learn to throw and 
catch little apples on the points of knives ; to imitate the songs 
of birds, attacks on castles, to jump through four hoops, to 
play on the cittall and the mandore, to perform on the clavi- 
corde and the guitar, for they are delightful to all; to string 
the viol with seventeen cords, sound the bells, to play on the 
harp, and to compose a jig, that shall enliven the sound of the 
psaltery. Jongleur, thou shalt prepare nine instruments, of ten 
chords ; if thou learnest to play well on them, they will furnish 
thee with ample melody.' " 

From Monsieur de Saint-Palaye's great work on the History 
of Troubadours, Dobson 's translation. 



THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 89* 

to England, he carried with him the heiress, and 
presented her to King Richard." 

Such are the facts of this singular history, 
precisely as related in the Book of Lacock ; * and 
the reader, I am sure, will excuse me, if, with such 
materials, an Old Poet should attempt to recite them 
with rather less brevity, in the more appropriate 
language of the romantic lay.-}" 



THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 

PART THE FIRST. 

At Rouen Richard kept his state, 

Released from captive-thrall ; 
And, girt with many a warrior-guest. 

He feasted in the Hall. 

The rich metheglin mantled high, 

The wine was berry-red, 
When tidings came that Salisbury, 

His early friend, was dead; 

And that his sole surviving child, 

The heiress of his wealth, 
By crafty kinsmen and allies 

Was borne away by stealth — 

* The original Latin will be found in the Appendix to this 
volume. 

f I have deviated from the Book of Lacock in placing King 
Richard in Normandy, because I believe that he never visited 
England during the two last years of his reign. 

G 6* 



90* THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 

Was borne away to Normandy, 

Where, secretly confin'd, 
She heard no voice of those she lov'd, 

But sigh'd to the north wind. 

Haply, from some lone castle's tow'r, 

Or solitary strand, 
E'en now she gazes o'er the deep, 

That laves her Father's land ! 

King Richard cried, " My minstrel-knights, 

Who will the task atchieve, 
To seek, through France and Normandy, 

The orphan, the left to grieve ? " 

Young William Talbot then did speak, 

" Betide me weal or woe, 
From Michael's Castle,* thro' the land, 

A Pilgrim I will go." 

He clad him in his pilgrim's weeds, 

With trusty staff in hand, 
And scallop-shell, and took his way 

A wanderer through the land. 

For two long years, he journeyed on, 

A pilgrim, day by day, 
Through many a forest, dark and drear, 

By many a castle grey. 

At length, when one clear morn of frost 
Was shining on the main, 

* Mount St. Michael, in periculo maris, answering to St. 
Michael's Mount, in Cornwall. 



THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 89 

Forth issuing from a castle-gate. 
He saw a female train. 

With lightsome step, and waving hair, 

Before them ran a child, 
And gathering from the sands a shell 

Ran back to them, and smil'd. 

Himself unseen, among the rocks, 

He saw her point her hand, 
And cry, " I would go home, — go home, 

To my poor Father's land." * 

The bell toll'd from the turret grey, 

Cold fell the freezing dew, 
To the portcullis hast'ning back 

The female train withdrew. 

Those turrets and the battlements 

Time and the storm had beat, 
And sullenly the ocean-tide 

Came rolling at their feet. 

Young Talbot cast away his staff, 

The harp is in his hand, 
A minstrel at the castle-gate 

The porter saw him stand. 

* An affecting story has been told of a poor savage youth 
from Africa, (I forget where I have seen it,) who was brought 
to England ; and who after he had been taught the language, 
depressed with the thoughts of his far-distant home, was con- 
stantly and mournfully heard to iterate to himself, as he was 
often seen, alone, gazing on the Thames, " Home — go, Sal- 
danna! Home — go, Saldanna!" 



90 THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 

" And who art thou ? " the Porter cried, 
" Young Troubadour, now say ? 

For welcome in the castle-hall 
Will be, to night, thy lay ; 

" For this the birthday is of one, 

Whose father now is cold, 
An English maiden, rich in fee, 

And this year twelve years old. 

" I love myself, now growing old, 
To hear the wild harp's sound. 

But whence, young Harper, dost thou come, 
And whither art thou bound ? " 

" Though I am young," the Harper said, 

" From Syria's sands I come, 
A minstrel-warrior of the Cross, 

Now poor and wandering home. 

" And I can tell of mighty deeds, 

By bold King Richard done, 
King Richard of the Lion's Heart, 

Foes quail to look upon. 

" Then lead me to the castle-hall, 

And let the fire be bright, 
For never hall or bower hath heard 

A lay like mine to-night." 

The windows gleam within the hall, 

The fire is blazing bright, 
And the young Harper's hair and harp 

Are shining in the light. 



THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 91 

Fair dames, and warriors clad in steel, 

Now gather round to hear, 
And oft that little Maiden's eyes 

Are glistening with a tear. 

For when the Minstrel sung of wars 

At times, with softer sound, 
He touch'd the strings as mourning those 

Now laid in the cold ground. 

He sung how brave King Richard pined, 

In a dark tower immured, 
And of the long and weary nights, 

A captive, he endur'd ; 

'Till faithful Blondel to his harp 

One song began to sing ; 
It ceas'd, — the King takes up the strain ! 

It is his Lord and King ! 

Of Sarum then, and Sarum's plain, 

That poor child heard him speak, 
When the first tear-drop in her eye 

Fell silent to her cheek. 

For, as the Minstrel told his tale, 

The breathless orphan maid 
Thought of the land where in the grave 

Her Father's bones were laid. 

Hush ! Hush ! the winds are piping loud, 

The midnight hour is sped, 
The hours of morn are stealing fast ; 

Harper, to bed, to bed ! 



92 THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 



PART THE SECOND. 

The two long years had pass'd away, 

When Castle Galliard rose, 
As built, at once, by elfin hands, 

And scorning time or foes.* 

It might be thought that Merlin's imps 

Were task'd to raise the wall, 
That unheard axes fell'd the woods, 

While unseen hammers fall. 

As hung, by magic, on a rock, 

The Castle-keep look'd down, 
O'er rocks and rivers, and the smoke 

Of many a far-off town. 

* " This magnificent ruin of the favourite Castle of Richard 
the First is on the banks of the Seine, near Les Andelys, the 
birth-place of Poussin and the retreat of Thomas Corneille. A 
single year sufficed to form its immense fosses, and to raise those 
walls which might seem to be the structure of a life-time. When 
Cceur de Lion saw it finished, he is said to have exclaimed, with 
exultation, ' How beautiful she is, this daughter of a year !' It 
was the last hold of the English in Normandy; and, under the 
command of Roger de Lacy, long mocked the efforts of Philip- 
Augustus, who came in person to invest it, in August 1203. 
The siege was memorable for its length, the incredible exer- 
tions of de Lacy, and the sufferings which the besieged endured 
until its capture in the following March. It was afterwards 
dismantled by one of the Louis, lest it should become the hold 
of any of the feudal Barons whom he dreaded. Since, or at 



THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 93 

And now young knights and minstrels gay 

Obey'd their Master's call, 
And, loud-rejoicing, held the feast 

In the new-rafter' d Hall. 

His Minstrels, and his mailed Peers, 

Were seated at the board, 
And, at his side, the highest sat, 

William, of the Long-sword. 

the time of the Revolution, it was offered for sale by the French 
Government ; but, as its walls offer too firm a resistance to those 
who might wish to destroy it, it is happily left to stand for the 
admiration of other centuries. 

" Time has dealt hardly with thy state, 

Darling of England ! yet Renown 
Is grown thy vassal, nor can Fate 

Yet rob thee of that ancient frown 
Which made thee fearful; on thy brow 

Sits Pride, while Freedom loves to say, 
Of all her Norman holds the last 

Wert thou to own th' invader's sway. 

Born in one year ; in scorn baptized 

Of Peril ; proof to all attacks 
Save cold neglects, — thy strength disguised, 

Yet mocks the Goth's dismantling axe. 
Tis well ! where Coeur de Lion dwell'd, 

And brave de Lacy fought, each stone, 
Spared by the piety of eld, 

Should be preserved as Glory's own ! " 
Wiffen's Memoirs of the House of Russell, vol. i. p. 548. 

In the splendid work by Mr. Cotman, of the Architectural 
Antiquities of Normandy, the ruins of this castle are given, from 
which the beauty of the scenery, and the position, may be 
judged. 



94 THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 

This youthful knight, of princely birth, 

Was dazzling to behold, 
For his chain mail, from head to foot, 

Was gilded o'er with gold. 

His surcoat, dyed with azure blue, 

In graceful foldings hung, 
And there the golden lions ramp'd, 

With bloody claws and tongue. 

With crimson belt around his waist, 

His sword was girded on, 
The hilt, a Cross, to kiss in death, 

Radiant with jewels shone. 

The names and banners of each knight, 

It were too long to tell — 
Here sat the brave Montgomery, 

There, Bertrand and Rozell. 

Of Richard's unresisted sword 

A noble minstrel sung, 
While to a hundred answering harps 

The blazing gallery rung. 

So, all within was merriment, 

When suddenly a shout, 
As for some unexpected guest, 

Burst from the crowd without. 

Now, not a sound — and scarce a breath 

Through the long Hall is heard, 
When, with a young Maid by his side, 
A vizor'd Knight appear'd. 



THE LAY OF TALBOT THE TROUBADOUR. 95 

Up the long Hall they held their way, 

On to the Royal Seat ; 
Then, both together, hand in hand, 

Knelt at King Richard's feet. 

The Knight now raised his vizor up, 

And raising it he smiled, 
Crying, " My honoured Leige, behold 

Earl William's orphan Child ! " 

" Talbot ! a Talbot ! " rung the Hall, 

With gratulation wild, 
" Long live brave Talbot,* and long live 

Earl William's new-found Child ! " 

Amidst a scene so new and strange, 

This poor Maid could not speak, 
King Richard took her by the hand, 

And gently kiss'd her cheek. 

Then placed her smiling through a tear 

By his brave Brother's side, 
" Long live brave Longespe ! " rung the Hall, 

Long live his future Bride ! " 

To noble Richard, this fair child, 

His ward, was thus restor'd, f 
Destined to be the future Bride 

Of him of the Long-sword. 

* It is a singular circumstance that the present possessor of 
the ancient domain of Lacock should be a Talbot. 

f She must have been presented to him the year in which 
Richard was killed, if Talbot was two years before he disco- 
vered her, for her father died in 1197. 



96 



APPENDIX TO CHAPTER IV. 



PRETENDED SISTERS OF ELA OF SALISBURY. 

Although no sufficient reasons have been found to dis- 
credit the statement of the Book of Lacock, that Ela was the 
sole daughter and heiress of her father, yet, as some authors of 
high reputation have been induced to suppose that she had 
sisters, it seems necessary to give their conjectures a due ex- 
amination and discussion. The two sisters which have been 
given her are brought forward distinctly by different authors, 
and have never, it is believed, been placed together 3 and it 
will therefore be proper to examine their claims separately. 

1 . Mabella, wife of Nigel Mowbray. 

This was a name put forth by the old herald Ralph Brooke, 
in his " Catalogue of Honour," and in his controversy with 
Camden. Mabel was the daughter of a William Patricius or 
Patry, a person whom Brooke chose to identify with William 
son of Patrick Earl of Salisbury. Camden replied that the 
said William could not be William Earl of Salisbury, because 
the latter for many years outlived Nigel Mowbray. However, 
Brooke persisted in his opinion, and his version of the story 
has been adopted by the modern historians of Surrey, in the 
following passage : 

<f We have seen that this manor (Banstead) belonged to the 
Bishop of Baieux, and was held of him by Richard de Tone- 
brige at the time of the Domesday Survey. The next possessor 
that we find was Tirel de Maniers, (ancestor of the present 
Duke of Rutland), who in the time of Henry I. gave the 



PRETENDED SISTERS OF ELA. 97 

church of Benestede to the priory of St. Mary Overee. 
From him the manor descended in marriage, with Eleanor 
his daughter, to William Fitz-Patric Earl of Salisbury, who 
gave it to Nigel de Mowbray, with his daughter Mabel. 
Nigel was in possession in ]6 Henry II. 1170, (Rot. Pip.) and 
confirmed the grant of the church made by Tirel his grand- 
father; at his death, about 3 Richard I. 1192, he gave to 
the same priory the church of Berges (Borough) belonging 
to that of Benestede." * 

On this statement the following remarks may be made : 

(1) For the assertion that Tirel de Maniers was an ancestor 
of the Duke of Rutland, there does not appear to be the least 
authority. 

(2) The name of " Eleanor" is taken from the pedigree of the 
Earls of Salisbury ; but the wife of William Earl of Salisbury 
was Alianor de Vite.ri (Monasticon, ii. 341, e Registro de 
Lacock). Dugdale (Baronage, i. 175,) has added to the name 
of Eleanor de Viteri, in a parenthesis, " (daughter of Tirrel 
de Mainers)" ; but, as he quotes no authority, it is clear he had 
not examined that statement, and that it was only a memo- 
randum of Brooke's account. 

(3) The wife of Nigel de Mowbray was a Mabel ; but the 
daughter, says a monastic pedigree of the Mowbrays, (Mo- 
nasticon, vol. ii. 193, from MS. Cotton. Cleopatra, E. in.) of 
Edmund Earl of Clare. As no Earl of Clare named Edmund 
is known, Dugdale, in his account of the Mowbrays, (Baronage, 
vol. i. p. 124-,) says fi daughter of the Earl of Clare." That 
Mabel xvas of the family of the English Earls of Clare is sup- 
ported by the circumstance that Bensted had been held by 
Richard de Tonebrigge, their ancestor. 

(4) The words " Tirel his grandfather " are not to be found 
in the confirmation charter of Nigel de Mowbray ; so that, in 
fact, even the assumed descent from Maniers to Mowbray does 
not hang together. 

* History of Surrey, by Manning and Bray, vol. ii. p. 582. 
The same statement is partly repeated in pp. 460, 588, 591, 
and vol. iii. p. 564. ♦ 

H 



98 PRETENDED 3ISTERS OF ELA. 

The charter of Tirel de Maniers is printed by Dugdale, 
Monasticon, vol. ii. p. 85 ; with a second of Nigel de Mow- 
bray, confirming the church and the manor of Benestede, 
which he had received in marriage with his wife, witnesses 
Hamelin de Warren and Roger de Mowbray ; and a third of 
Mabel, wife of Nigel, granting a virgate of land to the Canons. 
In the title to the last she is called " the daughter of William 
Patrio." Brooke says (Discovery, p. 91) that there was also 
in the cartulary a " charta Patricii Comitis,"but the " Comitis" 
may justly be doubted. Patricius was, in fact, the Latin form 
of the Norman surname Patry ; and a William Patry, a Ro- 
bertus Patricius, and others of the family, will be found in 
Wiffen's Memoirs of the House of Russell, vol. i. pp. 72 et seq. 
The introduction of a daughter of the Earl of Salisbury into 
this descent is therefore utterly groundless. 

Such is the erroneous fabric of the first reputed sister of Ela. 

2. The wife of Gilbert Malmaines. 

This second sister is proposed in the following passage of 
Clutterbuck's History of Hertfordshire : 

" Parish of Great Gaddesden, manor of Southall. Amongst 
the lands of the Normans, which were extended in the 6th year 
of King John, on the conquest of Normandy by the French, we 
find the lands of Gatesden, of Gilbert de Malmaines in right of 
his wife, in the county of Hertford. (Rot. Norm. 6 Joh. m. 3.) 
This land, I am inclined to think, was a share of the inheri- 
tance of William D'Evreux, Earl of Salisbury; for, though 
William Longsp£, who married Ela his daughter, has been 
generally considered as marrying the sole heir of the family, 
it seems very well ascertained that William D^Evreux had 
another daughter 3 for, in the 18th Henry III. Ela Countess of 
Salisbury and Nicholas Malmaines had their purparties assigned 
to them in the manor of Culing in Suffolk, formerly enjoyed by 
Alianore Countess of Salisbury, mother of Ela, and grand- 
mother of Nicholas Malmaines, which Alianore had probably 
held it in dower. (Claus. 18 Hen. III. m.26.)" 



BROTHER OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 99 

Now it is true that this record * shows the Countess Alianor 
to have been grandmother of Nicholas Malmaines, but it does 
show that the Earl of Salisbury was his grandfather ; and, 
as it has been found that the Countess, instead of dying two 
years before her husband (as stated in the Book of Lacock), 
survived to the year 1216,f it is most probable that she took a 
second husband, named Gilbert de Malmaines. I have found 
no pedigree of Malmaines ; but their son was perhaps Thomas, 
the wardship of whose heir was granted to the Earl of Salisbury 
and the Countess Ela in 1221. J That heir may have been 
Nicholas, who had his share of Culing, as described in the pre- 
ceding passage, in 1234. 

A BROTHER OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 

In the midst of these researches respecting the Countess Ela's 
pretended sisters, our attention is arrested by the appearance 
of a brother 5 whose existence is proved by a charter of Earl 
William his father, to Bradenstoke Priory, among the witnesses 
to which occur the words Waltero filio meo. || However, 
as this Walter occupies a low place in a long list of witnesses 5 
and as we not meet with him elsewhere, it may be confidently 
presumed that he was illegitimate. 

J. G. N. 

* The foregoing agrees with an abstract in the Harleian 
MS. 381, f. 29 ; where we find the following addition: 

" Salvo Henrico de Turbervill toto residuo ipsius Manerii 
quod remanebit ultra rationalibes partes ipsorum Comitisse & 
Nich'i et ultra partem Jacobi de Bovelingham et uxoris ejus." 

f " Mand' est Constabulo Oxon. et Berchampsted q'd in pace 
tenere permittat Alienor. Comitissam Sarr. matrem Isabell' 
[sic, pro Else] Com. Sarr. maneria sua de Gatesden et de Egges- 
werr et Wotton. T. Rege apud Bradeford, xxx die Aug. 1216." 
Hardy's Calendar of Close Rolls, vol. i. p. 285. 

+ Ibid. p. 468. 

|j It is printed in the Monasticon ; and appears in the Car- 
tulary in the Cotton MS. Vitellius, A. xi, f. 96. 



H 2 



100 



CHAPTER V. 

Marriage of Ela of Salisbury to William Longesp£— His mother 
Fair Rosamund — Particulars of his career as Earl of Salis- 
bury — Fate of Arthur Duke of Britany — Salisbury's cam- 
paigns in Flanders — Wars of the Barons, and Ratification of 
Magna Charta — Death, of King John. 

"We have no other particulars of the marriage of 
Ela of Salisbury to William Longespe, beyond the 
information afforded by the Book of Lacock, that 
it was from his brother King Richard that William 
received the hand of the heiress. It must there- 
fore be from this, and similar scattered circum- 
stances, that we shall collect the date when the mar- 
riage took place, and the respective ages of the 
parties. 

It has been seen that it was not until two years 
after her father's death in 1196, that Ela was dis- 
covered. This was therefore only one year before 
King Richard's death, which happened in 1199; 
and consequently the marriage, or rather affiancing, 
must have been concluded immediately after the 
heiress was placed within the power of her So- 
vereign Lord, and when she was only ten years 
of age. 

William Longespe was the son of King Henry 
the Second, by the fair Rosamund Clifford, whose 



FAIR ROSAMUND. 101 

romantic name, her traditional fate, and the prox- 
imity of her bower and of her burial-place to the 
muses of Oxford, have all contributed to perpe- 
tuate that celebrity which her beauty acquired in 
her own days. 

We have no direct intimation of the time of 
William Longespe^s birth ; but it may be nearly 
ascertained from the history of his unfortunate 
mother. Fair Rosamund was not known as the 
Royal Mistress, until after the imprisonment of 
Queen Alianor, on account of her siding with 
her sons in their rebellion. # This was in the 
year 1173. Then was Rosamund brought forward 
as the open and avowed paramour of King Henry ; 
and it is hardly probable that a passion, which then 
became so prominent and conspicuous, should have 
been indulged in a less degree for any great extent 
of time before. Many historians, in fact, have sup- 
posed that it was the King's attachment to Rosamund 
which first urged the Queen to incite her sons to 
rebellion. If, therefore, we assign the intercourse 
of Henry with Rosamund to a period within the 
years 1172 and 1177, (which latter date has been 
ascribed to her death,) we shall probably include the 
true date ; and the birth of William Longespe* may 
consequently be fixed about the year 1175, which 
will make him thirteen years older than Ela. 

* " Regina enim sua Elianora jamdudum incarcerata, factus 
est adulter manifestus, palam et impudice puellam retinens Ro- 
samundam. Huic nempe puella," &c. (Chron. Joh. de Brornp- 
ton, col. 1151.) 



102 FAIR ROSAMUND. 

As connected with the birth of William Longespe, 
it is necessary to make a few remarks on another 
personage, himself of considerable eminence in his- 
tory, whose imputed birth has tended to confuse 
every writer who has hitherto written on the history 
of Fair Rosamund. Another natural son of King 
Henry, Geoffrey, who was first Bishop of Lincoln 
and afterwards Archbishop of York, has been gene- 
rally called the son of Fair Rosamund, and even 
deemed a junior brother to the Earl of Salisbury.* 
The strict comparison of dates which has just been 
made, shows that William Longesp6 was the son of 
Henry's middle life ; whilst Geoffrey was certainly 
the child of his youth, and was Bishop of Lincoln 
almost as early as William was born ! The term 
puella, used by Brompton,*^ would not have been 
applicable to Rosamund at the time of the Queen's 
imprisonment in 1173, had she been the mother of 
the King's son Geoffrey, who was born in 1159. It 
therefore follows that Geoffrey was the son of 
another mother. His age is thus precisely recorded: 

" Natus est 5° Hen. II. [1159.] Factus est miles 25° Hen. 
II. [1179] Elect, in Episcop. Lincoln 28<> Hen. II. [] 182]." 

(Chron. de Kirkstall.) 

This testimony of the Kirkstall Chronicle, taken 
by itself, tended to confuse the investigation of Ro- 

* See Sandford's Genealogical History of England, and the 
Archaeologia, vol. xxi. ; Dugdale, however, does not mention 
Geoffrey with William under the title Clifford. 

f See note in the preceding page. 



MARRIAGE OF ELA. 103 

samund's history made by Percy in his Reliques of 
Ancient Poetry ; but the removal of Archbishop 
Geoffrey from the family, and the circumstance of 
William Longespe first appearing in history about 
1198, will, on the contrary, be found to confirm the 
previously received accounts of Rosamund Clifford.^ 

The circumstance that we find nothing relative 
to William Longespe of a date previous to his mar- 
riage, forms a material confirmation to the view 
which has now been taken. We may presume that 
he then was a youth just rising into manhood, and 
that his munificent brother, King Richard, took 
the earliest opportunity to confer upon him a provi- 
sion which would be suitable to his royal birth. 

It was with such great heiresses as Ela of Salis- 
bury, that provision was usually made for the younger 
offspring of royalty. Not to mention later instances 
of the kind, two may be noticed which belong to 
the same century. The heiress of Gloucester was 
given by King Henry the First to his natural son 

* It may be added that Archbishop Geoffrey had a brother 
Peter, not mentioned anywhere except in the history of York 
Cathedral, where Geoffrey desired to make him Dean. (See 
Drake's York, pp. 423, 561.) Peter may, doubtless, have been 
his brother without being the King's son ; but, if he were of 
Royal birth, it was probably by the same mother, now un- 
known. Morgan, Provost of Beverley, another natural son of 
Henry the First, was born of the wife of Sir Ralph Bloet ; and 
it is a remarkable coincidence which has never been noticed, 
that an Emma Bloet was in 1248 made Abbess of Godstow 
nunnery, the shrine of the body of Fair Rosamund. 



104 WILLIAM TALBOT. 

Robert ; and the heiress of the Warrens, Earls of 
Surrey, was bestowed first on an illegitimate son of 
King Stephen, and afterwards on a base brother of 
King Henry the Second.* 

Such, then, was Ela's natural destiny ; and it is 
very probable that the heiress of Salisbury was at 
once assigned to William Longesp^, when the death 
of her father left her the heiress of his estates and 
dignity, and whilst her person was still detained 
from the King's possession. In such case the trou- 
badour knight, William Talbot, was not only one 
whom the King could trust for his loyalty and ex- 
perience, but one who was proud to be numbered 
among the most devoted friends of the youthful 

* The heiress of the Warrens was an aunt of our Ela, being 
the daughter of her grandmother Ela of Ponthieu by her first 
husband William Earl Warren and Surrey. The second race 
of Warren were descended from the marriage of Ela's aunt and 
William Longespe's uncle ; thus his friend and political associate 
the Earl of Warren (whose name will occur in subsequent 
pages) was the cousin-german both of himself and of his 
wife. The following table will show at one view the position of 
those connections of the Foundress of Lacock which more 
immediately allied her with the Royal house of Plantagenet. 

• • • =j=GeofFrey Planta— p. • • • • • • =pEla of=p • • • 

genet, Count of \ I Pon- I 

Anjou. ^ I thieu. | 

r J L —i H S 

King HENRY II.-, Hameline.=plsabella William Earl 

\ ^f. Warren, of Salisbury. 

^ The Earls of Warren. ^= 

r J r —J 

William Longespe*, Earl=pELA, the Foundress 
of Salisbury. ^ of Lacock. 



THE COUNTESS ELA. 105 

Longespe\ Respecting Talbot we have this in- 
teresting fact, that his name occurs among the wit- 
nesses to several of the Earl's charters to Braden- 
stoke Abbey ; * which shows, that, whether he had 
been a friend of Longesp6 from his early youth, or 
whether he had earned that friendship by his chi- 
valric services in recovering the person of Ela, he 
continued in subsequent years the faithful retainer 
of the House of Salisbury. 

Ela is now an honoured wife; and who can fail to 
imagine the "high heroic games" which would have 
taken place if this marriage had been celebrated in 
the reign of the chivalric Richard, when the spot 
selected by Ela's father for tournaments, was imme- 
diately opposite the Castle of Sarum. But we hear 
little of these things in the sullen and inglorious 
reign of the despicable John. After the marriage 
of Ela, we have nothing to recount of her for several 
years, unless it were to enumerate the names of her 
flourishing family of four sons and as many daugh- 



* Also in the Close Rolls ; on the 2d of May 1207, the King 
received by the hands of William Talbot, and of Geoffrey Leveel 
a servant of the Earl of Salisbury, forty marks from the fine of 
a Flemish merchant vessel which had been captured. It is 
probably the same William Talbot who, after the Earl's death, 
we find attending on the King's brother Earl Richard, in Poic- 
tou, (whither he may have accompanied the Earl of Salisbury 
the year before his death,) and witnessing (together with Savaric 
de Maloleone, mentioned elsewhere,) a truce made with King 
Louis in 1.227. (Rymer's Fcedera.) 



106 EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

ters. These, however, will be found at the close of 
this chapter. 

The Earl, as we shall find, was in very frequent 
attendance on the King his brother, through the 
vagrant life in which John's reign was spent. 1 * That 
the Countess Ela would sometimes accompany the 
Court, may with reason be imagined ; but it seems 
most natural to suppose that, if her own wishes 
were consulted, she would prefer the dignity and 
order of her own household, to the precarious pro- 
vision of John's migratory train. 

Whilst her life was passing in provincial sove- 
reignty at Salisbury, or in the quiet retirement of 
some country manor, (most frequently, perhaps, in 
the peaceful shades of her native Amesbury,) we 
can only trace the current of her thoughts and 
anxious cares, in the active career of her princely 
and chivalric husband. 

Of this illustrious personage it may be first re- 
marked, that the name of William Longespe was 
originally derived from William Longesp6, Duke 
of Normandy, who died in 948 ; and that it had 
also been borne by William Count of Flanders,-j~ 
son of Duke Robert Curthose, and grandson of the 
Conqueror. His armorial coat was adopted from 

* In the xxiid volume of the Archaeologia will be found an 
Itinerarium of all John's movements throughout his reign, com- 
piled by T. D. Hardy, Esq., F,S.A. He was like the wild 
Arab, nescius stare loco. 

f Chron. de Mailros. 



Page 107. 

PEDIGREE III. 

DESCENT OF WILLIAM LONGESPE, EARL OF SALISBURY. 

AND OF ELA HIS COUNTESS, 

FROM WILLIAM LONGESPE, DUKE OF NORMANDY. 

William Longespe, Duke of 
Normandy, slain 923. 

T 

Richard I. Duke of Normandy. 

T 

Richard II. Duke of Normandy. 

r ■"- -, 

Adeliza, wife of Rainald 
Count of Burgundy. 

Robert Duke of Nor- William Count of Bur- 

mandy. gundy. 

T T 

William the Bastard, Con- The wife of Odo, in her 

queror of England. right Duke of Burgundy. 



I 1 I 

Henry I. King of Eng- Robert Duke of Nor- Helen of Burgundy, wife 
land. mandy. of William Count of Pon- 

thieu. =p 



-p Liueu. -j- 



Matilda, the Empress, William Longespe, Ela of Ponthieu, wife of 

wife of Geoffrey Count of Count of Flanders Patrick Earl of Salisbury. 
Anjou. =F 1127, ob. 1128. 
Chron. de Mailros. 



Henry II. King of Eng- William Earl of Salis- 

land. bury. 



William Longespe, — Ela of Salisbury, Foun- 
Earl of Salisbury. dress of Lacock. 



CORONATION OF KING JOHN. 107 

another of his princely relations ; for the six ram- 
pant lions had been first assumed, in the very in- 
fancy of heraldry, by his grandfather Geoffrey Plan- 
tagenet, Count of Anjou.* It may be added that 
Ela, also, through her grandmother Ela of Pon- 
thieu, was descended from the sovereign house of 
Normandy, and, like her husband, could number 
Duke William Long- Sword among her ancestors. -^ 

Immediately upon his marriage, or at least very 
shortly after, William Longespe entered upon Ela's 
hereditary office of the Shrievalty of Wiltshire,^' 
which since the death of her father had been en- 
trusted by the Crown to meaner hands. 

On Ascension Day, being the 27th of May, 1199, 
King John was crowned at Westminster, in a full 
concourse of his nobility, among whom William 
Earl of Salisbury is recorded to have been present. § 
On the same day, the King invested William Mar- 

* Seethe engraving in Stothard's " Monumental Effigies" of 
the highly curious enamelled tablet, representing Count Geof- 
frey, with a long shield bearing the rampant lions in the same 
manner as on the effigy in Salisbury Cathedral. 

f See the opposite Pedigree. 

X In 1 Joh. for the fourth part of that year ; for all the suc- 
ceeding years till 9 Joh. inclusive. In 15 Joh. he was again 
constituted Sheriff of Wilts, which office he afterwards held so 
long as he lived. In 14- Joh. he was Sheriff for the counties of 
Cambridge and Huntingdon, for one half of that year ; and 
again in 16 Joh. (Dugdale's Baronage, from the Pipe Rolls.) 
The Earl of Salisbury was also Sheriff of Lincolnshire for the 
first six years of the reign of Henry III. 

§ Roger Hoveden. 



108 CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

shall with the sword of the earldom of Striguil (or 
Pembroke), and Geoffrey Fitz Peter with the sword 
of the earldom of Essex ; " for, though," adds the 
chronicler, " they were called Earls, and exercised 
the administration of their earldoms, yet they were 
not till that day girded with the sword of those 
earldoms, and so, that day, they served, at the table 
with their swords girded to them!' The same ce- 
remonies must have taken place on the day when 
William Longesp6 was first invested with the earl- 
dom of Salisbury ; but the date of that investiture 
has not been recorded. We may presume that it 
had already been celebrated in the reign of Richard. 

On the 7th of June following, the Earl of Salis- 
bury was with the King at Northampton, and there 
witnessed an ordinance relative to the Great Seal.* 

King John was in Normandy, from April to Oc- 
tober 1200, and again from May 1201 to December 
1203. During part at least of this second and 
lengthened absence he was accompanied by the Earl 
of Salisbury, who probably attended him to his in- 
terview with King Philip at Paris in the beginning 
of July 1201. He was certainly with the King at 
Bonneville sur Toques on the 29th of October in 
that year ; ^r at Bures on the 26th of Dece tuber ; J 
at Angoulesme on the 4th of February 1202 ; § and 
at Vaudreuil on the 21st of April following. || 

* Rymer's Fcedera. f Fcedera. 

+ Nichols's Hist, of Leic. i. 97. § Fcedera. 

|| Chartae Hibernicse, p. 13. The document is there errone- 
ously placed under 1201. 



DEATH OF ARTHUR DUKE OF BRITANY. 109 

It was at this time that the fatal tragedy was 
enacted of the youthful Arthur Duke of Britany, 
which has branded John in the page of history as 
the murderer of his nephew. The capture of Arthur 
took place at the castle of Mirabel, in Anjou, which 
was taken by the King in person on the feast of St. 
Peter ad vincula (Aug. 1). The young Duke was 
then sent as a prisoner to the castle of Falaise ; and 
afterwards, when he had refused to adhere to King 
John instead of King Philip, he was removed to 
Rouen, where this high-spirited youth is presumed 
to have found his untimely death. The mode of 
that catastrophe is one of those mysterious transac- 
tions which must still continue in the class of " his- 
toric doubts." 

The touching scenes of Shakspeare will at once 
arise to the mind of the reader, when these events 
are mentioned ; and it may be recollected that the 
Earl of Salisbury is introduced by the poet # as one 
of the peers who throw off their allegiance to John, 

* The loyalty and activity of the character which Shak- 
speare has named Philip Fauconbridge, would have suited the 
name of William Longespe; as well as the fact of being of 
royal, but illegitimate, birth. The materials of Philip Faucon- 
bridge seem composed of two historical characters; of Philip, 
a natural son of King Richard, of whom little is known beyond 
the circumstance of his killing the Viscount de Limoges, to 
revenge his father's death; and of Falcasius de Breant (whence 
the name Falconbridge), a very distinguished soldier through- 
out the reign of John, and also a bastard, but not related to 
royalty. 



110 CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

from disgust at the horrible and unnatural crime of 
which they so strongly suspected him to have been 
guilty. Such are the combinations of times and 
events which are readily conceded as the privilege 
of the poet ; but the only attention that can be paid 
them by the historian is to contrast them with the 
truth. 

It is a fact that the Earl of Salisbury afterwards fell 
away from his allegiance to his brother (or appeared 
to do so) ; but it was at the distance of thirteen years 
from the death of Arthur, a distance, in fact, compris- 
ing almost the whole extent of the reign of John. 
During that interval, we have numberless instances 
of their reciprocal attachment. The rolls of King 
John's letters^ abound in records of the King's con- 
stant bounty to his brother, not only in gifts of 
lands and fees, wardships and marriages, but in 
frequent presents of money, of timber, of wine, 
of venison, and of a variety of other things 
afforded by the royal demesnes, or which at that 
period contributed directly to the revenues of the 
crown /j" 

* By the recent publication of the Rotuli Literarum Clau- 
sarum we are made acquainted with many of the minutest oc- 
currences in the reign of King John, a period which is thus 
brought forward from comparative darkness into a light almost 
as perfect (as far as the King is concerned) as one which is 
illustrated by gazettes and newspapers. 

f On the 12th of May 1212, the King gave him the ship 
called the Countess, which had been taken by the Royal 
galiots. On the 18th of March 1215, the King directed the 



CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPiL 111 

In the summer of 1204 we find the Earl accom- 
panying his brother from place to place in England ; 
being with the King at Bridgewater on the 4th of 
July, at his own priory of Braden stoke on the 21st, 
at Karebroc * on the 24th, at Odiham on the 28th ; 
at Badby in Northamptonshire on the 10th of Au- 
gust, at Devizes on the 29th and 30th of September, 
at Marlborough on the 1st of October, and at the 
Tower of London on the 2d of November.-}- On 
the 9th of September that year he was appointed 
Constable of Dover Castle, which office he held for 
about twenty months. J On the 13th of January 
1205, he was with the King at a place called Sutton, 
probably that near Winchester, in Hampshire ; § on 
the 18th of February at Lexinton (now Laxton) in 
Nottinghamshire ; || and on the 21st of April at 
Westminster.^! 

In this year we first meet with the name of Wil- 

keepers of the Bishopric of Ely to deliver 100 live pike, great 
and small, to be put into the pools of the Earl at Gatinton. 

* Some place between Ludgersball, where the King was on 
23d, and Glastonbury, where he was on the 25th. Qu. Castle 
Cary ? 

f All these dates are from the Clause Rolls. The King was 
at his own palace of Clarendon during the same time only on 
the 22d— 28th of September; the 10th, 11th, 18th, 20th, 
and 30th of November, the 1st, 3d, and the 28th— 31st of 
December. 

i His successor the Earl of Essex was appointed 25th May, 
8th John. Lyon's Dover, p. 202. 

§ Fcedera. || Ibid. IT Clause Rolls. 



112 CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

iiam Longesp6 in a military command. On the 9th 
of June 1205, the King, being then at Portsmouth, 
ordered the payment of ^26. 5s. \0d. for the livery 
of the Earl of Salisbury's ships. * John was then 
intending himself to embark for France, having 
made vast preparations to attempt the recovery of 
Normandy, which had been lost in the preceding 
year ; but he was dissuaded from the present execu- 
tion of his design by the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury and the Earl of Pembroke ; and, after consider- 
able hesitation and fluctuation of purpose, he relin- 
quished his intention. We have it recorded-}- how- 
ever, that " his brother 'the Earl of Salisbury had 
already passed over, with many knights, and had 
landed at Rochelle, whither King John's natural 
son Geoffrey had preceded him shortly before." We 
hear nothing of their achievements ; for victory con- 
tinued to favour the arms of King Philip. 

In less than a month the Earl was returned ; for 
we find him with the King at Marlborough on the 
3d of July; J and on the 18th of August he was 
with him at Bere. § 

The almost constant attendance of the Earl of 
Salisbury on his brother might thus be pursued from 
month to month, and from place to place ; but we 

4 

* Clause Rolls, p. 38. 

f In the Chronicle of Ralph Coggeshall, MS. Cotton, Vesp. 
D. x. f.105. 

X Chartae Hibernicae, p. 14. 
§ Clause Rolls. 



CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 113 

have said, already, perhaps more than enough to 
show their great personal attachment. King John 
made another expedition to France in 1206 ; but 
with that exception he remained for some years in 
England, still continuing his migratory life. * 

In 1209 the Earl of Salisbury was constituted 
Warden of the Marches of Wales. *f~ 

More stormy times were soon at hand. In the 
year 1211, Pope Innocent fulminated his interdict 
against King John. Then not a bell was heard, 
throughout the whole kingdom. The dead were 
interred without a word of " dona pacen ;" no re- 
quiem was chaunted ; no marriage rite celebrated ; 
no child brought to the font for Christian baptism! 
At this crisis William Earl of Salisbury was still 
found the most faithful friend of his royal brother, 
through evil report as well as good. He is named 
first among those whom Matthew Paris calls the 
King's " consiliarii iniquissimi ! " 

He was of course involved in some of the scenes of 
humiliation which John was doomed to encounter. 
On the 3d of May 1213 he was present at Dover, 
and there witnessed the King's treaty of peace with 

* On the 3d of June 1207, the Earl was with him at Wood- 
stock (Clause Rolls); on the 21st of Jan. 1208, at Lambeth 
(Foedera); on the 18th of March at Marlborough ^ibid.) ; on 
the 19th of April at Tewkesbury (Clause Rolls) ; on the 11th 
of September, at Aston ( Foedera) ; and on the 18th of October 
at Shrewsbury (ibid.) The Clause Rolls of 9 and 10 John are 
unfortunately deficient. 

f Dugdule. " Pat. 10 Joh. m. 3." 

I 



114 CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

the Barons ; on the 15th of the same month, also 
at Dover, in the house of the Knights Templars, 
he witnessed the charter by which the King resigned 
the kingdom and crown of England to the Pope ; 
and on the 3d of October, at St. Paul's, London, he 
beheld John's mean performance of absolute homage 
at the feet of a legate of the Sovereign Pontiff! 

In the same year, on Flanders being invaded by 
Philip King of France, the Earl of Salisbury went 
as the General of the English forces sent in aid of 
Ferrand Count of that province,^ supported by Wil- 

* In the preceding year the Earl had been sent to Dover to 
meet the Count, as appears by a letter in Rymer's Fcedera, 
dated July 20, 1212. The letter of his credentials to Count 
Ferrand in 1213 is also printed in the Fcedera. The King tells 
the Count that he had sent to his assistance William Earl of 
Salisbury, Reginald Count of Boulogne, Hugh de Boves, Henry 
Fitz-Count, and Brian de Insula. This is dated on the 25th of 
May. On the Close Rolls we find another letter bearing date 
two days later, addressed by the King to Peter de Mauley, in 
the following terms, the conclusion of which is remarkable, as 
characteristic of John's ungenerous and suspicious disposition : 
" We send you three hundred marks, desiring that, if our bro- 
ther the Earl of Salisbury should remain in the parts of Flan- 
ders with the Count of Flanders for the convention which you 
know of, after the ships have returned, that then you pay them 
for his expenses ; but if he should not remain there after the 
ships, then you shall return them, and see that he Jcnoivs nothing 
of it. By myself at Wingham 27th May." On the 22d June 
the King commissioned John Fitz-Hugh and Falkes de Breant 
to attend to his affairs with his brother the Earl of Salisbury, 
whom he then sent to them, and desired them to remain with 
him, and consult for his advantage and honour, not acting with 



CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 115 

liam Duke of Holland and Reginald Count of Bou- 
logne. The expedition was unusually short ; for, 
surprising a large French fleet at anchor in the har- 
bour of Swine/* deserted by the soldiers who had 
inarched to ravage the country, the English forces, 
having soon overcome the sailors, immediately 
loaded thirtyf- of the transports with every kind of 
store and provision, and sent them off to sail for 
England. They then proceeded to fire the de- 
spoiled vessels, amounting to a hundred or more, 
which were lying dry on the shore ; so that, adds 
Matthew Paris, the French King and his nobility 

him, should they coDsider him to be adopting improper mea- 
sures. The King adds that he had deposited in the New Tem- 
ple at London, 20,000 marks, which they were to draw at 1000 
or more at a time as they required, 

* The name in Matthew Paris. More accurate particulars 
of places and dates are supplied by Jacob Meir, a Flemish his- 
torian quoted by Holinshed. The place where the French 
fleet lay was the haven of Dam, now called Dollart Bay ; the 
English attacked them, and landed, on the Thursday before 
Pentecost (May 30) ; were joined by the Earl of Flanders the 
next day 3 and on Whitsun even (June 1) when assaulting the 
town of Dam, were surprised by King Philip, who came from 
Ghent, and driven to their ships. The three Earls then sailed 
with their booty to the Isle of Walcheren. 

f Erroneously " three hundred" in Holinshed ! By Meir 
(according to Holinshed) the number of ships taken is stated 
as four only. The same writer, while contracting the loss of 
the French, probably in a still greater degree exaggerated that 
of the English and Flemings, which he states as two thousand 
men, besides those taken prisoners, amongst whom he says were 
twenty-two knights. 



116 CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

lost the most favourite treasures they had on earth.* 
After a brief battle with the returning French army, 
the English then took to their ships ; and King 
Philip, ruined by the great loss he had sustained, 
immediately relinquished his Flemish campaign. 

In the latter part of the same year (1213), we 
find the Earl attending on King John, at Rochester 
October 5, at Freemantle October 28, at Gloucester 
December 1, and at Marlborough December 6.*j~ 

In the following January the Count of Flanders 
came to England, and had an interview with King 
John at Canterbury ; after which, he returned home, 
taking with him the Earl of Salisbury, the King 
having agreed to assemble a more numerous army 
in the same country. J Of that army the Earl was 
appointed the Marshal ; his duties being to serve the 
campaign with the English forces, and to furnish pay 
from the treasury to the others engaged in the ser- 
vice. § On the approach of the hostile armies, the 

* " Rex Francorum et tota fere transmarina nobilitas amise- 
runt quod in rebus humanis dulcimus possiderunt." 

f Clause Rolls. J Matthew of Westminster. 

§ This passage is so important and interesting, as describing 
the duties of the Marshal, that it is perhaps desirable to quote 
the words of the original : " Rex autem Johannes constituerat 
Mareschallum illius exercitus Willielmum comitem Sares- 
beriensem, cum militia Regni Anglorum,ut cum ipsis militaret, 
atque aliis militantibus de fisco stipendia ministraret." Thus 
England then, as in modern times, paid for all ! Both Matthew 
Paris and Matthew of Westminster notice the prodigality of 
this year, for John was himself with an army in Poictou; and the 



CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 117 

English and their allies were disposed in three bat- 
talions, the commanders of the first of which were 
Ferrand Count of Flanders, Reginald Count of 
Boulogne, and William Earl of Salisbury. The 
battle took place on the 27th of July at Bovines, 
between Tournay and Lisle ; and the victory was 
with the French. 

Such are the leading facts, as related by Matthew 
Paris, of this ruinous campaign, in which the Earl 
of Salisbury occupied so prominent a station. But 
that historian seems not to have been aware that 
just a week before the battle, namely on the pre- 
vious Sunday (July 20), being the feast of St. Mar- 
garet the Virgin, the English army had lost the 
services of its illustrious Marshal. It appears that 
the Earl had formed a plan to surprise the French 
King whilst he was attending mass, but was him- 
self captured in the enterprise, with the rest of his 
party.* 

It happened, however, that a cousin-german of 
King Philip, the eldest son of the Comte de Dreux, 
had been taken by the English shortly before ; so 
that, after some negociation, the brave, but in this 
instance unfortunate, Salisbury was set at liberty, 
it is believed early in the following year.-f- 

former asserts that John expended in it 40,000 marks,, which he 
had *« shamefully taken from the Cistercian monks." 

* Dugdale,from a " MS. Oxon. inbibl. Bodl. n. 11, f. 177b 
et 178 a." 

f Dugdale, from Pat. 16 Joh. p. 1, in dorso m. 13 5 and 
Ypod. Neust. in arm, 1215. 



118 SEALING OF MAGNA CHAKTA. 

In the mean time, the differences between King 
John and his Barons were rising to a fearful height, 
and the month of June, in 1215, witnessed the 
proud triumph of the latter, and the acquisition of 
Magna Charta * on the field of Runnimede. At 
that ever memorable meeting, the whole of the Peers 
of England were assembled ; and the great majority 
were in the camp of the Barons, whose army was 
increased to numbers the most formidable. Many, 
indeed, had just before transferred their support 
from the King to the prevailing party ; and John 
was reduced by an imperious necessity to a reluctant 
and insincere concession. The higher aristocracy, 
however, still appeared on the Royal side ; and the 
banner of the Earl of Salisbury^ floated in the camp 
of his Royal brother, together with those of the 
Earls of Pembroke, Warren, and Arundel. 

Before that same year had closed, the treacherous 
King, who had previously been reconciled to the Pope, 
and had assumed the Cross, thereby placing himself 
under the protection of the Church, procured from 
this Spiritual King of Kings upon Earth, an ana- 
thema against the Barons, and a suspension of 
Cardinal Langton from the see of Canterbury. 

* A most beautiful copy, as regards penmanship, was depo- 
sited, and is now to be seen in the Chamber of Records at 
Salisbury Cathedral. 

t in a letter dated the 6th of June, the King had directed 
Falkes de Breant to send fifty Welshmen, to be with the Earl of 
Salisbury, at Salisbury on the Tuesday after Easter. Clause 
Rolls. The Earl probably still retained his military command 
in Wales, 



CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 110 

John also collected a numerous army of foreign 
mercenaries, with which he wrested the castle of 
Rochester from the confederate Barons, and then 
inarched to St. Alban's, where he assembled his 
friends on the 20th of December. There, having 
first directed the Convent to publish throughout 
the country the Archbishop's suspension, he pro- 
ceeded to form two armies to suppress the insur- 
gent people ; one destined for the Northern coun- 
ties under his own command, and the other for the 
South, under the Earl of Salisbury and the fierce 
Falcasius de Breant. The proceedings of Salis- 
bury's army were first to place garrisons in the 
castles of Windsor, Hertford, and Berkhampstead, 
to watch the city of London, where the Barons had 
fixed themselves, and to cut off the supply of their 
provisions. The Earl and Falcasius then marched 
through the counties of Essex, Hertford, Middlesex, 
Cambridge,^ and Huntingdon, "laying all waste 
with spoliation and rapine, after the example of 
Holofernes, the captain of the army of the Assy- 
rians;" placing towns under contribution, carrying 
off men, burning the houses of the Barons, destroy- 
ing their parks and fishponds, cutting down their 
orchards ; and at last continuing the spoliation, to 
a great extent, accompanied with fire, even to the 

* Matthew of Paris particularly describes their havoc in the 
Isle of Ely, which they were enabled to enter from the dykes 
being frozen. They broke into the cathedral, and were only 
bought off from firing it by the Prior paying 209 marks of 
silver. 



120 CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

suburbs of London, and in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of the Barons' forces. At this period the 
arms of the King were so successful, that the Barons 
had only two castles left, Mountsorrel in Leicester- 
shire, and that of Robert de Ros in Yorkshire. At 
that crisis they turned for aid to Prince Louis of 
France, who in May 1216 landed at Sandwich, 

We now encounter a remarkable change in the 
conduct of the Earl of Salisbury. He who had 
been so loyal to his Brother throughout all his 
difficulties, is now found suddenly to join the 
French Invader.^ " William Earl Warren, Wil- 
liam Earl of Arundel, William Earl of Salisbury, 
and William Marshall the younger," says Matthew 
Paris, " and many others with them, deserting King 
John, came to Louis, as if they accounted it now 
perfectly certain that Louis would obtain the King- 
dom of England." In the Chronicles of Melrose, 
however, (in which the French Chronicles are fol- 
lowed,) the conduct of these Earls is attributed 
to craft instead of affection, and to have been 
adopted rather with the intention of subverting 
than of assisting the cause of Louis, as, it is re- 
marked, their subsequent " treason" showed. 

* On the 28th of March he was with the King at Plessey in 
Essex; on the 31st he had a grant of the marriage of the 
daughter of Ranulph de Glanville; on the 17th of August he 
was with the King's enemies. (Clause Rolls.) On the 17th of 
September, at Lambeth, he witnessed the treaty of peace with 
Louis. (Foedera.) 



DEATH OF KING JOHN. 



121 



John did not long survive the desertion of his 
best friends. On the 18th of October 1216, death 
terminated his turbulent and miserable reign ; and 
during the truce made at the following Christmas, 
the four Earls just named, all again changed their 
party, and acknowledged the young King, Henry 
the Third. 

The circumstances of this return are more par- 
ticularly related in the Chronicles of Melrose, 
copied doubtless from some French historian. It is 
there stated, that in the month of March,* whilst 
Louis was in the isle of Rh£, in Flanders, there 
unexpectedly rose against him William Longespe, 
the brother of King John, the younger William 
Marshall, and their confederates ; but by God's 
providence some French ships, destined for Eng- 
land, accidentally came at that time to the island, 
and Louis was delivered from their power. 

Dugdale suggests, that the return of the Earl of 
Salisbury to the Royal side was induced by the great 
advantages which were held out to him by the 
Regent Pembroke ; for he immediately did homage 
to the King for the county of Somerset, then 
granted to him ;*f~ and after the raising of the siege 

* This date is confirmed by the Clause Rolls. Ou the 9th 
of March the King wrote to the several Sheriffs and Constables 
in whose jurisdictions the Earl's lands were situated, informing 
them that " William Earl of Sarum our uncle has come to 
our fealty and service, and xue have received him into our grace 
and 'favour," ordering them therefore to restore his possessions. 

f "Pat. 1 H. 3,m.l." 



122 CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

of Lincoln, at which he was present, he was consti- 
tuted Sheriff of that county, and Governor of the; 
Castle ; # and Dugdale remarks that, in the com- 
mand which was directed to Peter de Mauley to 
give Salisbury livery of the Castle of Sherborne 
and County of Somerset, he was required to do it 
without delay, lest the Earl should start back.-}- 

To this it may be added that the Clause Rolls for 
many subsequent years teem with entries of money 
and lands which were conferred upon him. From 
some of them we gather that the King presented 
him with ^1000 in money, the payment of which 
was completed in November 1219 ; and besides paid 
him yearly the sum of 300/. until he was provided 
with escheated lands of that value. Lands to the 
value of 500/. had been promised him by King 
John. 

The guardian of the young King Henry, and his 
constant attendant, was the Earl of Pembroke; 
but the Earl of Salisbury received scarcely fewer 
favours from the Crown than had fallen to his share 
when he was the companion of the late King. Be- 
sides the weightier matters already mentioned, gifts 
of deer and of timber are particularly frequent ; and 
among the latter was some for the repair of his 
houses at Lacock. 

It was supposed by Dugdale that the Earl of 
Salisbury at this period went on the Crusade, and was 
present at the seige of Damietta in 1219 ; but this 

* " Pat, 1 H. 3 m. 7." t " Ibid. m. 11." 



CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 123 

statement seems to have arisen from a misinterpre- 
tation of a name in Matthew Paris. # 

* The words of Matthew Paris are " de Outhlandia, de 
Wiche, de Saleberge, et Cestriae Comitibus." The first three 
seem to be all foreigners. " Outhlandia" is Holland ; " Sale- 
berge" is perhaps Salzberg ; the Latin of Matthew Paris for 
Salisbury, in other parts of his History, is always Sarisbe- 
riensis; and the editor seems to have been aware this was 
another person, having in the index omitted this page among 
those in which the Earl of Salisbury occurs. The whole of the 
most illustrious Englishmen present at this siege of Damietta^ 
are thus enumerated in the Chronicon Roffense, MS. Cotton, 
D.n. f. 130$ " Venerunt de regno Angliae viri nobiles et nomi- 
natissimi : illustris Comes Cestrie Ranulphus, Saero Winton. et 
Willielmo Harundel $ et inclitis Baronibus, Roberto filio Wal- 
teri, Johanne Constabulario Cestriae, Willielmo de Harecure, 
Olivero filio Regis Anglie, cum sequela sua non modica." 



124 



CHAPTER VI. 

Foundation of the Cathedral of New Sarum — The Earl's Cam- 
paign in Gascony — His last perilous Voyage— Hubert de 
Burgh's insult to Ela, the Earl's resentment, and his Death. 

England now enjoyed some years of peace ; and 
we may return with the Earl to his Castle of Salis- 
bury, and to that most interesting scene, in which 
the pious Ela was an active party with him. This is 
no less than the ceremony of founding the present 
beautiful Cathedral of Salisbury. A particular ac- 
count of this memorable occurrence has been left, as 
we have already mentioned, by William de Wanda, 
who was then Precentor and afterwards Dean of 
Sarum ;* it is as follows : 

" In the year of Grace 1220, on the feast of Saint 
Vi talis the Martyr, namely, the fourth of the calends 
of May, the foundation of the new church of Sarum 
was laid. The Bishop had expected that the King 
would have come to the ceremony, with the Legate 
and the Archbishop of Canterbury, and many of 
the nobility of England ; and he had therefore in- 

* The original will be found in the first volume of Wilkins's 
Concilia. In the translation given in Dodsworth's History of 
Salisbury Cathedral there are several inaccuracies. — The present 
Bishop of Salisbury has had a fair transcript made for ready 
reference of the MS. in which it is preserved, called the Register 
of Osmund. It contains the Annals of the Church, from Os- 
mund to Henry III. 



FOUNDATION OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. 125 

curred a great expense in order to prepare a solemn 
banquet for all comers. But the Bishop was disap- 
pointed, in consequence of a negotiation then pend- 
ing with the Welsh, at Shrewsbury. He could not, 
however, defer the business longer, because it had 
been publicly announced throughout the diocese. 

u On the day appointed, the Bishop came with 
great devotion, few Earls or Barons of the county 
attending, but a great multitude of the common 
people crowding hither from all parts. When divine 
service had been performed (at the old cathedral), 
and the grace of the Holy Spirit invoked, the Bishop, 
having put off his shoes, went in procession with 
the clergy of the church to the place of the new 
foundation, singing the litany. After the litany,* a 
sermon was made to the people. The Bishop then 
laid the first stone for our lord Pope Honorius, who 
had granted the license for transplanting the church; 
the second for Stephen Archbishop of Canterbury, 
and Cardinal of the holy Roman church, who was 
then with the King in the Marches of Wales ; and 
the third for himself. Then the fourth was laid by 
William Earl of Salisbury; and the fifth by the 
Countess Ela,* a woman truly praiseworthy, be- 
cause she was filled with the fear of the Lord. After 
her, the few noblemen present added each a stone ; 
then Adam the Dean, William the Precentor, Henry 
the Chancellor, Abraham the Treasurer, and the 

* " Ela de Viteri" in the original, the writer confusing the 
Countess with her mother. 



126 CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

Archdeacons and Canons of the church of Sarum, 
who were present, did the same, amidst the accla- 
mations of the multitude, who even wept for joy, and 
contributed thereto, according to their ability." ■* 

Who can read this account of the ceremony of 
laying the foundation stones of Salisbury Cathedral, 
and " the people weeping for joy" without the 
deepest interest, enhanced by the reflection that 
now the worship is so much more pure and scrip- 
tural, and six hundred years have passed over the 
venerable pile ! \ 

On the 11th of August in the same year (1220), 
the Earl of Salisbury was at Oxford, and there wit- 
nessed the convention with Geoffrey de Marisco, 
Justice of Ireland ; \ on the 7th of September 1223 
he witnessed the charter of Prince Llewellin promis- 
ing satisfaction to the King;^ on the 16th of No- 
vember following he was with the King at Glouces- 
ter ; § and on the 18th of August 1224 he witnessed, 
at Bedford, the King's acknowledgment of an aid 
from the Clergy. || 

During these several years of the reign of Henry 
III. we meet with no record of Salisbury being 
actively employed ; but in the spring of 1224, when 

* William de Wanda adds, that in the course of time, as the 
nobility returned from Whales, several of them came and laid 
stones, binding themselves to a certain contribution for the next 
seven years. 

f See Letter to Lord Henley, by the author. 

| Rymer's Foedera. § Clause. Rolls, || Frcdera. 



CAREER OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 127 

his nephew Richard, the King s brother, had recently 
received the degree of knighthood, with the Earl- 
doms of Cornwall and Poictou, it was determined 
that he should flesh his maiden sword in the plains of 
Gascony, under the guidance of his uncle the Earl 
of Salisbury and Philip de Albeney. They accord- 
ingly sailed with sixty knights, and all landed safely 
at Bourdeaux, on Palm Sunday (April 7) ; when 
they were honourably received by the Archbishop and 
citizens. Then, having collected an army, the Earl 
proceeded with his Royal nephew through Gascony, 
reducing to obedience those who refused homage 
and fealty to King Henry ; particularly the castle 
and town of la Reole, which they took after a long 
siege, the town and fort of St. Macari, and the cas- 
tle of Bergerac ; and so in a short space they sub- 
dued the whole country, notwithstanding a hos- 
tile force sent against them, under the command of 
Hugh Count of the March. * 

* This is the account furnished by Matthew Paris. In the 
Fcedera is a letter sent by the Earl of Cornwall to the King 
from St. Macari on the 2d of May. He tells his brother that 
on the Thursday (April 18) before the feast of St. Mark, they 
came with the army around the city of Bazas (Vasatum), and 
passed the night without the city, which was surrendered by 
the Bishop and citizens in the morning ; so that all Gascony was 
then freed from the King's enemies except Reole, and all the 
nobles to the King's party except Elias Ridell ; and concludes 
with asking for money. It is related in the Annals of Dun- 
stable, that there was one castle which held out for nearly three 
months; which was probably that of Ridell ; and it is also paiv 



128 LAST VOYAGE OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

It appears that the Earl remained in Gascony, 
with Prince Richard, during the greater part of the 
year, and then attempted to return to England in the 
stormy month of October. The voyage was very 
disastrous, not only from the present hardships he 
encountered, but in its consequences as affecting the 
peace of the virtuous Ela, and eventually, as was sup- 
posed, the life of the Earl himself. We shall first 
describe the perils of the voyage, following strictly 
the expressions of Matthew Paris. 

The chronicler begins by relating that, " after the 
Earl had been many days and nights at sea, thrown 
about by the storms to various quarters, despairing 
of his life, as did the sailors themselves and all that 
were in the ship, he committed to the waves his pre- 
cious rings and whatever he possessed in gold or 
silver, or valuable vestments, in order that, as he 
had entered naked into this temporal life, so, de- 
spoiled of all earthly honour, he might pass to his 
eternal country. But whilst he was driven to the 
utmost despair, a waxen light of large size and 
shining with great splendour, was seen by all in the 
ship, resting upon the summit of the mast, and 
and near it they saw standing a girl adorned with 
exquisite beauty, who preserved that bright waxen 
light, shining through the nocturnal darkness, from 
the violence of the wind and rain. Being encou- 

ticularly stated, in the same authority, that the Earl of Salis- 
bury left the country before the conclusion of the siege of la 
Reole, which lasted for nine months. 



LAST VOYAGE OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 129 

raged by this vision of heavenly brightness, both 
the Earl himself, and all the sailors, trusted that 
divine aid was vouchsafed to them ; but, whilst all 
in the ship could not conceive what this vision por- 
tended, Earl William alone assigned the favour of 
the benign appearance to the blessed Virgin Mary ! 
for the Earl, on the day when he had been first 
honoured with the belt of knighthood, had ap- 
pointed a wax light to stand before the altar of the 
most blessed Mother of God, that it might burn 
during the mass which was daily wont to be de- 
voutly chaunted, with the canonical hours, in her 
honour, and might exchange its temporal light for 
that which is eternal! 

" After this occurrence, on the following dawn, 
the Earl was carried by the wind., with his compa- 
nions, to the isle of Rhe, three miles distant from 
Rochelle ; where, having entered their small boats,* 
they rowed to the shore. There was in the island a 
Cistercian abbey, to which the Earl sent messengers, 
requesting that he might therein lie concealed from 
his enemies, until he was favoured with a more pro- 
pitious wind ; to which the Abbat kindly consented, 
and received him and his companions with honour. 
The island was in the charge of Savaric de Malo- 
leone, who at that time served the King of the 
French, and kept watch upon several islands on 
that coast with a considerable force ; two of whose 

* " Brevihus cymbis." 
K 



130 LAST VOYAGE OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

retainers, who well knew the Earl,* and were deputed 
with many others to the ward of the islands, coming 
in a friendly manner to him, after he had stayed 
there about three days, told him that, unless he left 
the island before the following morning, he would 
be captured by their comrades, who guarded the 
islands and straights with them. Upon this the 
Earl, having presented to those soldiers twenty 
pounds sterling, quickly flew to his ships, and 
trusting himself to the waves, was for almost three 
months constantly struggling with the raging ele- 
ments, before he landed in England." 

Such is the account given by Matthew Paris of 
this fatal voyage ; and from a subsequent passage 
it appears that the Earl's landing was effected 
in Cornwall at the time of Christmas. During 
the interval, all his friends had despaired of his safety, 
except his faithful wife ; who, though now a matron 
whose age and dignity ought to have commanded 
greater respect, became again an object of pursuit to 
the fortune-hunters of the court. The person who 
then had the greatest sway in the country, was the 
the Justiciary Hubert de Burgh ; a man who was 

* The soldiers of Savaric de Maloleone had good reason to 
know the Earl of Salisbury ; for their captain had assisted him 
and Falcasius de Breant in their devastation of the isle of Ely, 
mentioned in a previous note, p. 118. (Matthew Paris.) Savaric 
was afterwards Seneschal of Poictou and Guienne ; his name 
is one of very frequent occurrence in the Rotuli Literarum 
Clausarum. He is also one of the Troubadours commemorated 
in Mrs. Dobson's abridgement of St.-Palaye. 



DE BURGH'S INSULT TO ELA. 131 

no less remarkable on account of his power and 
prosperity under one King, than for his trials 
and sufferings under another. This potent minis- 
ter, with a most indecent haste, put forward a 
nephew of his own as a suitor to the lady of 
Salisbury ; and the youth, entering with a kindred 
spirit into the interested views of his ambitious re- 
lative, at once proceeded to seek an interview with 
the Countess, and, it is said, to insult her with his 
personal addresses. Ela, however, like another 
Penelope, possessed a heart which could not be 
alienated from her absent Lord. But the story will 
be best continued in the narrative of the same chro- 
nicler, who has preserved so much of the interesting 
history of the Earl. 

It is related by Matthew Paris, that, whilst King 
Henry was deeply affected with grief at the sup- 
posed loss of the Earl of Salisbury, the Justiciary 
Hubert came and required from him that he would 
bestow Earl William's wife, to whom the dignity of 
of that Earldom belonged, by hereditary right # , on 
his own nephew Reimund, that he might marry her. 

* Dugdale misunderstood this clause to apply to Reimund, 
translating it, " who pretended an hereditary right to this 
Earldom of Salisbury." This is contradicted by the disdainful 
manner in which both the Countess and the Earl are repre- 
sented to have spoken of his family. It clearly applies to Ela 
herself, the heiress of her paternal ancestors the former Earls 
of Salisbury, and in whose right Reimund, had he been success- 
ful in his suit, would have become Earl of Salisbury, during 
her life. The operation of this law of inheritance, as vested in 

k2 



132 de burgh's insult to ela. 

The King having yielded to this petition, provided 
the Countess could be induced to consent, the Jus- 
tice forthwith sent Reimund to her in a noble 
knightly array, to endeavour to incline the lady's 
heart to his suit. But when Reimund, with flat- 
tering speeches and large promises, attempted to 
induce her to consent, Ela with majestic scorn 
replied, " that she had lately received letters and 
messengers, which assured her that the Earl her 
husband was in health and safety ;" adding further, 
" that, if her lord the Earl had indeed been dead, 
she would in no case have received him for a hus- 
band, because their unequal rank with respect to 
family, forbad such a union. Wherefore," said 
she, " you must seek a marriage elsewhere, because 
you find you have come hither in vain." So Rei- 
mund de Burgh, hearing this, departed from her 
in confusion.^ 

Such was one of the 'most trying incidents in the 
life of the Countess Ela, as related by Matthew 
Paris. It is a remarkable circumstance, that, from 
the church history of William de Wanda, we find 
Hubert de Burgh was himself twice at Salisbury, in 

Ela, will be more fully shown in the history of her son, in the 
ensuing Chapter. 

* Whether Reimund was afterwards married does not ap- 
pear • he is not noticed by Dugdale in his article on the family 
ofde Burgh. But we learn from Matthew Paris the circum- 
stances of Reimund's death ; he was drowned at Nantes in 
1230, from the horse on which he was riding by the side of 
the river Loire, slipping down a steep bank, into the stream. 



THE KING AND DE BURGH AT SALISBURY. 133 

attendance on the King, during the months in which 
the Earl was contending with the winds and the 
waves of the stormy Channel. It is therefore not 
surprising that the future disposal of this rich earl- 
dom should have become the subject of his ambi- 
tious speculations. Ambition seems to have had 
its powerful influence on his otherwise great mind. 
He had himself married the daughter of the King 
of Scotland. 

The first of his visits to the new Cathedral, toge- 
ther with King Henry, was on Friday * next after 
Michaelmas, when the King offered to the church 
ten marks of silver, and a rich piece of silk ; and the 
Justiciary promised to the new altar a Text— that 
is, a copy of the Gospels, in the original Greek, — 
bound in gold with precious stones, and the relics 
of divers saints, to be devoted to the honour of the 
Blessed Virgin. This precious volume was brought 
in the following week, by the Justiciary's clerks, 
Luke the Dean of St. Martin's in London, and 
Thomas de Kent. The second visit of the King 
and the Justiciary, took place on the feast of the 
Holy Innocents, when the latter offered in person, 
at the altar, with great devotion, the splendid Text, 
and the King at the same time offered a ruby ring, 
both the gold and stone of which he directed should 
be applied to the further ornament of the covering 
of the Justiciary's book.-^ 

* Erroneously " Thursday ' in Dodsworth's Salisbury Cathe- 
dral, p. 119. 

f Wilkins's Concilia, vol. i. p. 557. 



134 THE KING AND DE BURGH AT SALISBURY. 

Such was the usual practice with these invaluable 
manuscripts;^ and we should indeed be ungrateful 
were we to censure either the respect, however allied 
to superstition, with which they were regarded, or 
the glorious magnificence in which they were en- 
shrined ; and which alike, under Providence, contri- 
buted to hand down to posterity their precious and 
solely infallible contents, now rescued from the 
human infallibility of the unstable traditions of 
the Church of Rome. 

To return to the transactions which took place 
at Salisbury during the absence of Earl William. 
We have seen that Hubert de Burgh was there, at 
that very time ; when, we are told, he indulged the 
design of heaping further honours and possessions 
on his family, by the acquisition of the Earldom of 
Sarum. It could not be deemed extravagant were 
we to connect his liberality towards the church with 
his dreams of aggrandisement ; under the influence of 
which he would naturally desire to conciliate the fa- 
vour of the clergy towards that new family, which he 
desired to see established within the ancient castle. 

When the King and Justiciary came the second 

* Some specimens of these splendid volumes are still pre- 
served, particularly in the Royal Library at Paris. Ducange 
has cited a variety of passages from old authors relating to the 
custom of adorning their exterior covers in the most sumptuous 
manner 5 and among them the following ; — " Codices Evange- 
lic! auro et argento lapidibusque pretiosis non immerito deco- 
rantur, in quibus rutilat aurum ccelestis sapientiae, nitet argen- 
tum fidelis eloquentise, fulgent miraculorum pretiosi lapides!" 
ltupertus Tuitiensis de Divinis Officiis. 



RETURN OF THE EARL. 135 

time to Salisbury, the presumptuous visit of Rei- 
mund de Burgh to the Countess Ela must have 
already taken place ; if indeed it was not made at 
that very time, when he might present himself sup- 
ported by the immediate countenance and presence 
of the King and his uncle, next in authority to the 
King. The feast of the Holy Innocents was on the 
28th of December, when Ela might possibly have 
heard, as she said, of the return of the Earl her 
husband ; for it was during the days of Christmas 
that Longespe' landed in. Cornwall. 

We now approach the closing scenes of the life of 
this brave and loyal chieftain : who, after he had 
landed in Cornwall, first arrived at Salisbury, on 
Saturday next after the Epiphany, the 4th of the 
ides of January (Jan. 10) ; and the same day, in the 
afternoon, on repairing to the New Cathedral, to 
offer his thanksgivings for his preservation and safe 
return, was received in procession by the clergy, with 
great demonstrations of joy. * 

On the morrow he proceeded to the King, who 
who was then at Marlborough, ill in health.-}- His 
royal nephew welcomed him with great joy; and he 
then immediately made a heavy complaint to Henry, 
alleging, that whilst he had been employed in remote 
parts, the Justiciary had sent a certain low-bred J 

* Chron. of W. de Wanda, Wilkins's Concilia, vol. i. p. 559. 
f Ibid. What follows is from Matthew Paris. 
X Hubert de Burgh had raised himself by his own abilities j 
and Reimund was probably not even a Knight. 



136 LAST ILLNESS OF THE EARL, 

man, who, whilst he was himself still living, would 
have dishonoured his wife, and have violently con- 
tracted an adulterous marriage with her. He added, 
moreover, that unless the King caused full repara- 
tion to be shown him from the Justiciarv, he would 
himself seek redress for so great an outrage, to the 
most serious disturbance of the kingdom. Upon 
this the Justiciary, who was present, confessed the 
fault rested with him, and renewed his favour with 
the Earl by some valuable horses and other large 
presents ; and so, peace being made, the Justiciary 
invited the Earl to his table, where, it is said, the 
Earl was infected with secret poison,* and, thence 
returning to the castle of Salisbury, took to his bed, 
grievously sick. 

u His illness increasing, when he perceived very 
certain symptoms of approaching death, he caused 
the Bishop of the city *f to come to him, that he 
might receive those things which befit a Christian 

* The frequent insinuations of suspected poison which occur 
in old chronicles, seldom deserve any other regard than as 
evidences of the ignorance of the times in pathological science. 
It is evident that nothing could be more likely to act as poison 
than the royal feastings of Marlborough after the long privations 
of ship-board. 

f Richard Poore. His effigy remains in Salisbury Cathe- 
dral ; so the painter who would delineate this scene, has his 
portraiture and attire before him. See an engraving of the 
effigy, together with his seal, in Dodsworth's Salisbury Cathe- 
dral, pi. 3 ; and another in Brirton's History of the same 
beautiful edifice, pi. 2 of Monuments. 



DEATHBED OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE\ 137 

in the confession and viaticum, and make a legal 
will of his possessions.^ When the Bishop entered 
the bedchamber, bearing the body of Christ, the 
Earl leaped from his bed towards him, entirely 
naked except his drawers ; and having tied a rough 
noose about his neck, he prostrated himself weeping 
upon the floor, declaring that he was a traitor to 
the Most High ! nor would he be removed until he 
had made his confession, and received the commu- 
nion of the life-giving sacrament, that he might 
testify himself to be the servant of his Creator ! 
And so, having for some days persevered in acts of 
the greatest penitence, he yielded up his soul to his 
Redeemer. And it happened, (continues the Chro- 
nicler,) while his body was being carried to its burial, 
for a mile between the castle and the new church, the 
wax candles which were borne lighted, according to 
custom, together with the censer, furnished a conti- 
nual light in the way, amidst showers of rain and 
storms of wind, openly manifesting that the Earl, 
who had been so deeply penitent, was then num- 
bered with the sons of light.'" So says Matthew "fr 
the Monk, which we are not hereticks enough to 

* The will, as may be seen hereafter, was already settled. 

f Dugdale has quoted Matthew of Westminster as the au- 
thority for this account of the funeral ; but his narrative is 
merely an abridgement from that of Matthew Paris, with the 
additional remark that the incident of the burning lights had 
also occurred in the case of Hugh the sainted Bishop of Lin- 
coin, and Confessor. 



138 FUNERAL OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

question ; but who can read this account without 
lamenting the effect of superstition on such a mind 
as that of Longespe, however part of this interest- 
ing description may have been in unison with the 
purest spirit of devotion ! 

The exact date of the Earl's death is furnished 
both by our Book of Lacock and by William de 
Wanda ; it was on Saturday the nones (the 7th) of 
March 1226. The latter authority gives some ac- 
count of his funeral, but without mentioning the mi- 
raculous tale of the Monk Matthew. His body, we 
are told by De Wanda, " was brought to New Sarum, 
with many tears and deep sighs, on the day of his 
death, and at the very same hour at which, exactly 
eight weeks before, he had been first welcomed in 
triumph to this beauteous new cathedral. On the 
morrow, being Sunday, he was honourably buried 
in the new Chapel of the blessed Virgin ; and there 
were then present, the Bishops of Sarum, of Win- 
chester (Peter de Rupibus), and a Bishop of Ire- 
land, Earl William Marshall (Earl of Pembroke), 
and Earl William de Mandeville (Earl of Essex) ; 
also the Barons, Robert de Veteripont, Hugh de 
Gurnay, and Ralph de Toani, with a great multitude 
of knights." 

The interment took place in the Chapel of the 
Virgin, of whose patronage and favour he had es- 
teemed himself so eminently the object.* There, 

* *' Among the Chapter Records are various indulgences 
granted to such as should visit the Church, and recite certain 



F. 13, 'J. 





1 



it ' ; |j» "f % ' I' m ft li I ii 1% 



I|l|li!iifllB^ I ' i MlPf I i ! ^'iiiiilllpl 



-;:■ 



c stf/f//// ///f/// c/ //////,/;// /,>//y r,j//r / a //,>/ r Af //,>/■ f/ '/ // 



/'// Salisbury Cafrkedr&l . 



SEPULCHRAL EFFIGY OF LONGESPE. 139 

on the north, stood his monument, with his effigy, 
its sides ornamented with pillars and arches carved 
in wood, and panels richly painted, diapered, and 
gilt, having depicted around it, in alternate shields, 
the three lions passant of England, and the six 
rampant lioncels of Salisbury. In the year 1790, 
alas for Cathedral improvements ! this monument 
was removed to its present situation in the nave ; 
when the skeleton was found entire. # 

The appearance of this " Son, Brother, and Uncle 
of Kings," to judge from his martial figure of grey 
marble, sleeping, as it were, from century to cen- 
tury, with his sword and shield, upon his tomb in 
Salisbury cathedral, must have been singularly manly 
and commanding. 

His features are only partially exposed, through a 
small aperture in his hood of mail, which entirely 
covers his mouth and chin. His eyebrows are 
somewhat lofty and imperious ; but the eyes seem 
gentle and intelligent. 

His limbs are lightly cased with plaited mail, 

prayers at his tomb. By the Archbishop of Cassel, in 1278, 
forty days ; Robert Bishop of Wells in 1279 ; William Bishop 
of LandafF, and Walter Bishop of Sarum, in 1287 ; William 
Bishop of Sarum 1289 ; by John Archbishop of Dublin, 1291, 
for twenty days ; by John Bishop of Winchester, Gilbert of 
Chichester, and Roger of Coventry and Lichfield, in 1295, for 
forty days j by Henry Bishop of Winchester in 1305 j and by 
Roger Bishop of Sarum in 1327." Dodsworth's Salisbury Ca- 
thedral, p. 204. 

* Dodsworth's Salisbury Cathedral, p. 204. 



140 SEPULCHRAL EFFIGY OF LONGESPE. 

formerly gilt, which covers his hands and feet. 
On his body, above his mail shirt, he wears a sur- 
coat, formerly blue painted with lioncels, and 
lined with crimson ; this is confined by the belt of 
knighthood, with a golden buckle. 

His long sword, reaching to his spurs, is seen 
by his side ; but his right hand is not grasping it, 
as in the presumed figure of his son, in the same ca- 
thedral. It lies as it were peaceably resting at his 
side ; as if to show he was by nature peaceable and 
gentle, but, when awakened, in the cause of the 
Cross, of his King, or of chivalry, could rise like the 
rampant lions on his shield ; exemplifying the beau- 
tiful description of Shakspeare : 

In peace there 's nothing so becomes a man 
As modest stillness and humility ; 
But when the blast of war blows in our ears, 
Then imitate the action of the tiger ! 

In contemplating the obsequies of one of the 
pious and munificent Founders of Salisbury Cathe- 
dral, borne to the tomb, when the original words, in 
Latin, of our own affecting and sublime ritual, were 
solemnly chanted, — if this service, read or sung, be 
always impressive, how much more so must it have 
been, when the corpse of a nobleman so distin- 
guished was brought, the first of the living gene- 
ration, to be laid within those walls, of which he, 
with his pious and desolate widow, had laid one of 
the foundation stones ! Think, reader, of the per- 
sonage, — of his character — of his station — of the 
long line of torches from the castle to the cathedral 



ANCIENT FUNERAL SERVICE. 141 

in one straight line of a mile — of the hushed mul- 
titude, many in tears, with occasional audible la- 
ments ! As the sad procession approached the ca- 
thedral, the bier was met, at the great western 
door, by Bishops, Noblemen, and the Cathedral 
Clergy, the Choristers and Precentor chanting in 
Latin, up the nave, the same funeral service now 
chanted in English, on occasion of public burials in 
cathedrals. # I may say this, for, among the earliest 
MSS. in our Cathedral is a volume containing great 
part of the present burial-service, in Latin (a part 
having been lost from the volume). This curious 
and beautiful MS. secundum usum Sarum was 
written before the time of Bishop Osmund, though 
it is called his ritual. -j~ How much further into 
antiquity the words may be traced is not decided ; 
but it was long before anything like Popery, in its 
offensive shape, had its terrific dominion in these 
kingdoms. 

The Music to which the words were sung, — the 

* I will not insult the common understanding of every think- 
ing being, by saying one word in defence of this holy and af- 
fecting service; when even the grammatical construction in 
one passage, has been distorted, by modern Puritanism, to suit 
a criticism as absurd as it is uncharitable. I allude to the 
words " the resurrection," in obvious answer to the words, 
* dust to dust." 

t The ritual, printed 1555 — secundum usum Sarum — is very 
different. I have this Breviarium Sarisburiense, and have com- 
pared it. The first hymn ends — " Melos canemus Sarum." 
in which there is an office for the Seven Sleepers ! Die Septem 
dormientium ! 



142 DIRGE. 

choristers, Precentor, Bishop, * and dignitaries, 
chanting, in procession, before the body, — was pro- 
bably no more than the planus cantus, with a dirge, 
or Dirige. 

But who ever heard the words in English, chanted 
to the solemn and sublime music of Croft, -J- espe- 
cially that exquisite verse of Purcell — 

" Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts ! " 
without tears. 

A poet cannot advert to the circumstances that 
took place, as related by an eye-witness, at the fune- 
ral of the heroic chieftain of our annals of Lacock, 
without 

A DIRGE 

TO THE MEMORY OF WILLIAM LONGESPE, 
Buried in Salisbury Cathedral, March 8, 1226. 



Toll the bell — a solemn toll, 

Slow and solemn let it be, 
While we pray for William's soul,— 

Miserere, Domine ! 

Lonely is the castled height, 

Now its scenes of glory close, — 

Bear him, by the torches' light, 
To his long, his last repose. 

* The Bishop of Salisbury, at Coronations and all national 
ecclesiastical convocations, whenever the King is present, is 
expected to attend, and, in virtue of his supposed eminence in 
musical science, to take the lead, as the Precentor of the 
Kingdom. 

t Croft's service, with Purcell's most affecting verse, so 
lately performed over the lamented Bishop of Bristol, and 
over a brother Residentiary, departed from among us. 



DIRGE. 143 

Toll the bell — a solemn toll, 



Slow and solemn let it be, 
While we pray for William's soul, — ■ 
Miserere, Domine ! 

By torch-light from the castle hill, 
They bear him to the lighted Fane, 

They bear him, mid laments and sighs, 
They bear him amid wind and rain. 

Toll the bell — a solemn toll, 

Slow and solemn let it be, 
While we pray for William's soul, — 

Miserere, Domine ! 

Nobles, Knights, and Prelate-Lords, 
Receive him at the western door, 

In tears, with banner and with cross, 
And the Peace of Heav'n implore. 

Toll the bell — a solemn toll, 

Slow and solemn let it be, 
While we pray for William's soul, 

Miserere, Domine ! 

Now the Choristers in white, 

Slowly pacing up the nave, 
And joining in the holy rite, 

Chant, before him, to the Grave. 

William good, and William brave 
Oh ! who would not weep for thee ! 

Lay his body in the grave, 
Dona Pacem, Domine ! 



144 



APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI 



WILL OF WILLIAM LONGESPE, EARL OF SALISBURY. 

The Earl made his Will previously to his last campaign in 
Gascony, and for greater security had it attested by the King's 
seal. It was consequently entered upon the Close Rolls, and 
it will be found printed, in the original Latin, from that au- 
thority, in the Excerpta Historica. As its contents touch 
upon several subjects noticed in this work, I shall here append 
a complete translation. 

►J« In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. Amen. This is the Will of William Longespe\ Earl of 
Sarum, made in the middle of Lent in the year from the in- 
carnation of our Lord 1225, when it was disposed and provided 
that he should go into Gascony in the service of our Lord the 
King. 

" Imprimis, I William Earl of Salisbury direct that the debt 
which I owe to my Lord the King since my last accompt this 
year before the Barons of the Exchequer at Westminster be 
paid to my Lord the King from the proceeds of my wardships, 
saving such part of it as my bailiffs can show to be overcharged. 

Item, I direct that my other debts be paid from the proceeds 
of the land of William de Vescy, 1 which I have in my wardship, 
except the manor of Cathorp with its appurtenances, from 
which I assign 200Z. towards the building of St. Mary of the 
essart of Bentlewood. 2 But when those 200/. have been re- 
ceived from that manor, it shall return to the payment of my 
debts until the full age of the said heir. 

1 Who became the husband of his daughter Isabella. 
* Bentley in Middlesex? where there was a small Priory of 
Canons. 



WILL OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 145 

Item, I assign to the satisfaction of prizes unjustly taken to 
my use out of war by myself or my men, the moiety of all the 
proceeds of the wardship of the land of the heir of Earl Hugh 
le Bigod ; and the other moiety to reward those who have 
served me, except the manor of Aclee/ with its appurtenances, 
from which I assign 200 marks to the new building of the 
church of Salisbury. But when those 200 marks have been 
received from that manor, it shall return to pay my debts as 
aforesaid, until the full age of the heir of the said Earl Hugh 
le Bigod. 

Item, I assign to the building of the house of God's place 
of the Carthusian order, 3 all the profits of the wardship of the 
land of the heir of Richard de Campvill,' of which I am now 
seized, until his full age. Item, I assign to the same House a 
chalice of gold with beautiful emeralds and rubies ; a pix of 
gold with pearls, and two vials of silver, of which one is gilt 
and the other plain; also its great chapel-furniture, namely a 
chasible of red satin, and a cope for the choir of red satin ; a 
tunicle; a dalmatic of saffron silk well wrought; an alb with 
ornaments, an amice, a stole, a fanon, with napkins, and all its 
reliques. Item, I assign to the same House 1000 ewes, 300 
muttons, 48 oxen, and 20 heifers. 

Item, to the house of St. Mary of the essart of Bentlewood, 5 
my feast-day chapel-furniture, which I have been accustomed 
to carry with me, 6 except the aforesaid two vials of silver which 

2 Oakley, in Buckinghamshire, formerly the mother church 
of Brill, Boarstall,and Addingrave. See the index to Kennett's 
Parochial Antiquities. 

3 His own foundation at Hatherop in Gloucestershire ; which 
manor he gave for that purpose on St Magdalen's day 1222, 
and which the Countess Ela his widow afterwards removed to 
Hinton Charterhouse. 

4 Idonea, who was married to his son. 

5 Not known to monastic authors by that name. As the 
Earl favoured it next to his own foundation, and before Bra- 
denstoke, can it have been the first germ of Lacock on another 
site? 

6 In like manner, King John carried about with him a valuable 



146 WILL OF EARL WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

have been assigned with the great chapel furniture as aforesaid. 
And I bequeath to the same house my book called a porte- 
hois 5 Also 20 cows, S00 ewes, 100 muttons, 32 oxen, 30 
goats, and 100 porkers. 

Item, to the house of Bradenstoke 300 ewes, 10 cows, and 
7 heifers. 

Item, to the house of Bernecester 6 200 ewes, 10 cows, and 8 
oxen. 

Item, to the house of Terrente 7 100 ewes, 8 oxen, and 7 
heifers. 

Item, to the house of Kinton, 8 100 ewes, and 6 cows. 

Item, to the house of St. Helen of London, 9 10 cows. 

Item, to the house of the Ivied Monastery l 50 ewes and 
10 cows. 

Item, to the house of St, John of Wilton " 5 cows. 

Item, to the house of Brumor ,a 50 ewes and 4 cows. 

Item, to the house of Bradley I3 100 ewes and 10 cows. 

Item, to the house of Christchurch 14 50 ewes. 

Item, to the house of Farley ls 100 ewes and 10 cows. 

Item, to the house of Bruynton l6 100 ewes and 10 cows. 

Item, to the house of St. Dionis without Southampton 17 50 
ewes and 10 cows. 

Item, to the lepers of the hospital of Sarum 5 cows. 

Item, to the lepers of the hospital of Wilton 5 cows. 

service of chapel-furniture, which, with the regalia, was lost in 
his last fatal journey across the Lincolnshire marshes. 

5 A portable book of prayers, or breviary. 

6 Burcester in Oxfordshire, of Augustine canons. It is re- 
markable that, among all the religious houses, in various coun- 
ties, which follow, there is no gift to the nunnery of Godstow. 

7 Tarrent Keines, a Cistercian nunnery in Dorsetshire. 

8 Keinton, a Benedictine nunnery in Wilts, near Chippenham. 

9 A Benedictine nunnery. 

10 Ivychurch, Wilts, of Augustine canons, near Salisbury. 

11 A Benedictine nunnery. 

12 Bromere, in Hampshire, of Augustine canons. 
K Maiden Bradley, Wilts, Augustine canons. 

14 At Twinham, Hants, Augustine canons. 

15 Monkton Farley, Wilts, a Cluniac priory, near Bath. 
1(5 Bruton, Somerset, Augustine canons. 

17 Augustine canons. 



§EAJL§ fl Plate 1 



2. 147. 







DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 147 

Item, to the house of Hundeslawe 18 10 cows. 

Item, to the hospital of St. Bartholomew of London 19 8 oxen. 

Item, to the house of St. Radegund without Dover 20 10 oxen. 

Of this my Will I appoint these executors : namely, the ve- 
nerable fathers Stephan Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, the 
Lord Bishops of Bath, Lincoln, and Sarum, to order, confirm, 
and defend the same ; also I appoint the venerable men and 
my friends, William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, Sir William 
de Wanda, Dean of Sarum, 21 and Master Edmund, Treasurer 
of the church of Sarum, 22 to preserve and consult, and firmly 
assist the execution of the same ; also I appoint my beloved 
and faithful Sir Adam de Alta Ripa, knight, and Sir J. 
Bonet, clerk, faithfully to execute the same by the counsel and 
aid of the aforesaid personages. Moreover, for the greater 
security and attestation of this will, my Lord the King, at my 
petition, has caused to be affixed to this writing his own seal, 
together with the seals of the aforesaid personages, and toge- 
ther with my seal. 

The Earl's Seal is engraved in the opposite Plate. This figure 
differs from that on his monument in wearing a ponderous helmet, 
with a great front or cheek piece. 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 

The Foundress of Lacock, by her husband Earl William 
Longespe, had four sons and four daughters. The former were 
1. William, 2. Richard, 3. Stephan, and 4. Nicholas. 

1. William Longespe, to whose personal history we shall 

18 Hounslow, Middlesex, of Trinitarian friars. 

19 Augustine Canons. 

20 Sometimes called Bradsole, a Praemonstratensian abbey. 

21 The superior clergy, those it is believed who were gradu- 
ates, were styled " Sir," in Latin " Dominus," and in the latter 
times of the Romish church, in English " Dan." 

" Edmund of Abingdon, afterwards Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, and canonized (see hereafter, p. 201.) 

L 2 



148 DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 

recur whilst pursuing that of his Mother in the next and suc- 
ceeding Chapters. 

By his wife Idonea, daughter and heiress of Richard de 
Camville, he had issue four children : William Longespe the 
third, Richard, Ela, and Edmund. 1 Of the two younger sons 
nothing has hitherto been ascertained • but it is probable that 
the former was the same Richard Longespe' who was lord of 
Bramley, Surrey ; and, with Alice his wife, obtained a grant of 
free warren for that manor in 43 Hen. III. 1259.* He died in 
1 262, 3 having had no issue by Alice, who was the daughter of 
William de Ros, by Agatha, daughter of Roger de Clare. 4 

Ela Longespe was married to James Audley, a Baron 
of Staffordshire, who was killed by breaking his neck in 1272, 5 
being at that time, and for two years previous, Lord Justice of 
Ireland ; after which, his widow made a gift to the priory of 
Burcester, in Oxfordshire, the grant of which was ratified by 
her seal, representing her figure, standing, holding a shield of 
the arms of Longespe* in one hand and another of Audley (a 
fret) in the other, with this inscription, sigillvm ele de 
avdeleg. 6 (Seals, Plate II.) She died on or before 1299. 7 

It has hitherto been generally supposed that Ela Longespe 
was the mother of all this Lord Audley's children ; but Mr. 
Beltz, Lancaster Herald, who has fully investigated the genea- 
logy of the family, 8 has found reason to conclude that the four 
elder sons, James, Henry, William, and Nicholas, all succes- 
sively Lords Audley, were the children of a former wife, now 
unknown ; and that Ela was mother of Hugh only, 9 because the 

1 Book of Lacock. 2 Rot. Cart. 43 Hen. III. m. 2. 

3 Esc. 46 Hen. III. n. 1. 4 History of Surrey, ii. 77, 79. 

s Chron. Tho. Wikes. 

6 Kennett's Parochial Antiquities, p. 278. 

7 Rot. Orig. 27 Edw. I. No. 21. 

8 With a view to the biography of Sir James de Audley, one 
of the Founders of the Garter, in his contemplated History 
of that illustrious Order. 

9 Hugh was certainly heir to the lands of his mother Ela, 
per Jbrmam doni ; as is shown by a Writ of Certiorari, Esc. 

19 Edw. II. no. 30. 



SJEAJLS , Plate 31c 



P. 14&. 







Page 149. 



Alianor of Guienne, d. 1202.=pKing 

r ' 

King John, d. 1216. 



r— ' 

King 
Henry 
III. d. 

1272. 



Edmund 
Earl of 
Lancas- 
ter, died 
1295. 



s 

William= 
Longespe" 
II. slain 

at Man- 

soura 

1250. 



I 

William : 
Longespe - 
III. died 
1257. 



Idonea, dan. 
of Richard 
de Camville, 
mar. 1226, 
of full age 
1231, ob. 
1252. 



:Matilda,=F 
dau. and 
heir of 
Walter 
Lord 
Clifford. 



Henry Laci, Earl of=p]\ 
Lincoln, died 1311. j 

L 



2 bnge- 
Loaer of 



rec- 
Lin- 



Henry Earl of Lan- 
caster, heir to his 
brother Thomas, 
and great-grand- 
father of King 
Henry IV. 



Thomas Eafjestor 
of Lancaste^ested 
beheaded 
1321, s. p. 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 149 

lands settled upon Ela in frank marriage passed by her 
grant to Hugh and his posterity. This Hugh appears to have 
been first raised into consequence through the fortunate mar- 
riage of his son with Margaret, sister and coheiress of the last 
Earl of Gloucester of the illustrious House of Clare, the widow 
of the murdered favourite, Piers de Gaveston, and a niece of 
the reigning monarch, Edward the Second (through his sister, 
Joan of Acre). After this marriage had taken place, the 
father and son, both named Hugh de Audley, were summoned 
to Parliament in 1321, with the distinctions of Senior and 
Junior. The latter was afterwards created Earl of Gloucester. 
His daughter and sole heiress, Margaret, was married to Ralph 
Lord Stafford • and, after the death of Alice Countess of Lan- 
caster (hereafter mentioned), and the consequent failure of the 
issue of the third William Longesp£, the representation of the 
ancient Earls of Salisbury vested in that family, and has thence 
descended, through the (Staffords) Dukes of Buckingham, 
and the families of Howard and Plowden. to George-William 
Stafford Jerningham, now Lord Stafford, and the present 
Representative of Ela of Salisbury, the Foundress 
of Lacock Abbey. 1 



1 Though the law of female descent, as applied to Baronies 
by Writ, has long ceased to govern the descent of Earldoms, 
(in the manner it certainly did in the first centuries after the 
Norman Conquest,) yet our review of the ancient Earldom of 
Salisbury would not be complete, did we omit to notice the 
existence of a Pamphlet under the following title : " A Genea- 
logical and Historical Account of the ancient Earldom of Salis- 
bury ; showing the descent of the Baron Audley, of Heleigh, 
from the renowned William Longespe, Earl of Salisbury, son 
of King Henry II. by the celebrated Fair Rosamond, and 
showing, also, the right of the Baron Audley to the inheritance 
of the same Earldom. By Sir Thomas C. Banks, Bart. N. S." 
1832, 8vo. pp. 24. After what has been said above, it is un- 
necessary to add, that, whatever pretensions might have at- 
tached to the Lord Audley, in consequence of his presumed 
descent from our Countess Ela, must, in the event of Hugh 
de Audley being proved to have been the heir of his mother 
Ela, be transferred to Lord Stafford. 



PEDIGREE IV. 

HOUSE OF LONGESPE. 



Alianor of Guienne, d. 1202=j=King Henry II., d. 1 189.-r-Rosamund Clifford, d. 1177. 

King John, d. 1216. WILLIAM LONGESPE, Earl of=j=ELA OF SALISBURY, born 1188, married 1198, 

=p= Salisbury 1198; died 1226. | Abbess or Lacock 1240, died 1261. 



King 

II. MO 

III. d. 



ngespe 



1. Isabella, firstwifeofWm. deVesci, d.s.p. 1248. Sir Stephan=r=Emeline Countess Nicholas =f. 

2. Petronilla, d. unmarried. Longespe 1 , of Ulster, dau. of Longespe, : 

3. Ela, m. 1. Thos. de Newburgh, Earl of War- Justice of Walter de Ride- Bishop of: 
wick, d. 1242; 2. Philip Basset, d. 1271; she Ireland lesford, wid. 1242 Salisbury : 
died 1297, s. p. 1259, died of Hugh de Laci, 1291, died: 

4. Ida, m. 1. Walter Fitz-Robert 4, ; 2. Wm. 1260. Earl of Ulster; d. 1297. : 
Beauchamp, of Bedford. 4 1276. ; 



. died heir of 
7. Walter 

Lord 
Clifford. 



=2 h. John Richard, =Alice, dau. of Wil- 

Lord Gif- Lord of liam de Ros, by 

fard, of Bramley, Agatha, dau. of 

Brimsfield, Surrey, Roger de Clare. 



Ileinv Lad, E;liI ol-pMar^net Lmiuisjir, si yh<! Cmmtrss of .Salisbury i" 
Lincoln, died 1311. | Orig. 4 Edw. II. mar.1257, d. 1309 (first wife). 



Il.nry R.irl of Lan- Thomas Earl=Alicc La. 

caster, heir to his of Lancaster, mar. 1st 

brother Thomas, beheaded le Strang 

and great-grand- 1321, s. p. d. 1335 ; 



, sole heiress; li. 1295; 
311 ; 2dly 1325 Eubiil.. 
, summ. to Pui li - l.'.'.'ii, 
.'klly Hugh le Frcncs, 



Barnes Ela, ma. Roger la Zouche, 
Audley, who d. 1285; she was 
of He- dead 1276.4, 
leigh.d. Eineune, b. 1252; wid. of 
1272. Maurice Fitz-Mavuice 

1292; died 1331, s. p. 



the representation of the Ho 



William Longe- 
spe,portionerof 
Brocklesby rec- 



150 DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 

Of William Longespe the third we find no other men- 
tion in the annals of public events, except his untimely death 
in consequence of injuries received at a tournament held at 
Blyth, in the year 1257. He was a mere youth at the period 
of his death 5 but had, three years before, that is in 1254, 
married Matilda, only daughter and heiress of Walter Baron de 
Clifford, and great-niece to his own progenitor, the Fair Rosa- 
mund Clifford. Her mother was Margaret, daughter of 
Lewellin Prince of Wales, who had been first married to John 
Lord Braose, of Gower. William Longespe had with Matilda 
Clifford in free marriage the manor of Culminton, in Shrop- 
shire ; to the grant of which his uncle (by marriage) James 
de Aldithley was one of the witnesses. 1 

Only two years after, when he had probably fallen into his 
mortal illness, it was arranged that Margaret his infant heiress 
should be given in marriage to Henry, son and heir of Edmund 
de Laci. This alliance appears to have been in the first in- 
stance negociated during the campaign in Gascony; and was 
finally settled on the Friday next before Christmas, when it was 
agreed that William Longespe should give with his daughter 
his manors of Burcester and Millington ; and that Edmund 
should assign to her in dower, in the case of his son's death, the 
manors of Skyppys and Scales. This agreement .also was wit- 
nessed by James de Audele. 2 The contract was confirmed by 
the King, with this further proviso, that, if Henry de Laci 
should die before the marriage was consummated, John his 
younger brother should then take his place as the husband of 
Margaret de Longespe. William Longespe died shortly after ; 
as also did Edmund Laci, on St. Magdalen's day (July 21) 
1257 ; and in consequence Henry de Laci, the husband of Mar- 
garet Longesp£, succeeded to the estates of both ; but, being a 
minor, was in ward to the King, whilst his wife was in custody 

1 Kennett's Parochial Antiquities, p. 248, from Dugd. MS. 
vol. 1. p. 41. A seal of the third William Longespe (Plate I.) 
represents the long sword between two lions' or leopards' faces ; 
these were mistaken by Kennett for Saracens' heads! 

2 Kennett, p. 251, from Dugd. MS. vol. i. p. 17. 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 151 

of the Queen. 1 He became of full age in 1268, and then did 
homage with Margaret his wife, and had livery of all the lands 
whereof her father Longespe died possessed. 2 

The Seal of Matilda Longespe, used during her widowhood, 
represents her standing between two shields, the first cheeky, 
with a bend, for Clifford ; the second Longespe : the reverse 
is occupied with a shield of Longespe, and inscribed 3IGIL- 
LVM MATILDIS LVNGESPEIE. (Seals, Plate II.) 

Her history is somewhat remarkable. In 127 1, fourteen years 
after her husband's death, she made complaint to the King that 
John Lord Giftard had taken her by force from her manor-house 
at Canford in Dorsetshire, and carried her to his castle at Brims - 
field in Gloucestershire, and there kept her in restraint. He 
was in consequence summoned to the King, and, being told 
what was informed against him, he denied the charge, saying 
that he took her not against her will j and tendered to the King 
a fine of three hundred marks for marrying her without his 
consent, of which the King accepted, upon condition that she 
made no further complaint. 3 It would seem that these pro- 
ceedings were a sort of friendly scheme for encountering in a 
favourable way the penalty incurred by the lady's having taken 
a second husband without the Royal permission. 

In 1282 we meet with a pleasing instance of the Christian 
charity of Maud Longespe : On the death, in battle, of her 
kinsman Prince Llewellin, she wrote to Archbishop Peck- 
ham, then with the army, begging him to absolve the fallen 
enemy, in order that his body might receive an honourable 
burial : the Archbishop in his letters to King Edward, in- 
formed himself of the circumstance, but mentioned his scruples 
against complying with her request.. 4 She died before 1283, 
when John Giffard founded a cell in Oxford (afterwards called 
Gloucester Hall) for thirteen monks from the abbey of 
Gloucester, who were to pray for the souls of him and 
Matilda Longespe\ formerly his wife. He died himself on 
the 28th of May, 1299 ; when the estates of Matilda were 

1 Ibid, p. 252. - Dugdale's Baronage, i. 301. 

3 Ibid. vol. i. p. 500. 4 Rymer's Foedera. 



152 DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 

divided between Margaret Countess of Lincoln, her daughter 
by William de Longespe her first husband, and Katharine, 
Alianor, and Matilda, her three daughters by John Giffard. 
Katharine, the first of these, was then already the wife of Ni- 
cholas Lord AudJey, the son of James Lord Audley, of He- 
legh, before mentioned, (and step-son, as is now supposed, of 
Ela Longespe.) and was ancestress of the subsequent Lords 
Audley ; Alianor was afterwards married to Fulke Lord le 
Strange, and became the ancestress of the Lords Strange of 
Blackmere ; Matilda was not married. 

To return to Margaret, the sole heiress of Longespe\ and 
the wife of Henry de Laci, Earl of Lincoln ; who was a highly 
distinguished Peer in the reigns of the first and second Ed- 
wards, and sometimes in her right styled Earl of Salisbury. 
They had issue, Edmund and John, who both died in child- 
hood, the former being drowned at Denbigh castle ; ' and a 
daughter and heiress, Alice. Dugdale has stated that Mar- 
garet Countess of Lincoln was re-married to Sir Walter Wal- 
rond ; but this is an error, as she died two years before the 
Earl, 2 whose decease took place at his London mansion, on 
the site of the present Lincoln s Inn, in the year 1312. There 
was a dole, at Lacock Abbey, for the soul of the Countess 
Margaret, on the feast of St. Cecilia. 3 

Alice Laci, the heiress of two great families, was, in 
1291, at nine years of age, given in marriage to the potent 
nephew of Edward the First, Thomas Earl of Lancaster, Lei- 
cester, and Derby, who by this alliance added to those three 
Earldoms, a title to two more, — Salisbury and Lincoln. How 
he was subsequently overpowered as it were by his own gran- 
deur, and, falling a victim to the jealousy of the Crown, was in 

1 He was drowned in a deep well, within a high tower called 
the Red Tower; which was the reason his father never finished 
Denbigh Castle. Powel's History of Cambria. 

9 Inq. p. mort. 4 Edw. II. no. 51. See also Hutchins's Dor- 
setshire, vol. iii. p. 3, and the Excerpta Historica, p. 68. 

3 See the " Yearly Alms" at the Abbey, hereafter, p. 388. 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 153 

1321 beheaded at his own castle of Pontefract, is matter of 
national history. His marriage had previously terminated un- 
fortunately; for in 1317 the Countess Alice, who had brought 
him no children, was carried off by violence from the same 
manor of Canford in Dorsetshire, which had been the scene of 
her grandmother's alleged rape before mentioned, and was 
carried to the Earl of Warren's castle at Reigate, when one 
Richard de St. Martin came forward, and claimed her for his 
wife on the plea of a pre-contract. This indignity, which is 
supposed to have originated from the political enmity of Earl 
Warren and the King's party, occasioned a divorce between 
the Earl and the Countess. 

Some years after, the Countess Alice took for her second 
husband Eubulo le Strange, a younger son of John Baron 
Strange of Knockyn ; he, in consequence of his marriage, was 
summoned to Parliament (as a Baron) from 1326 to his death 
in 1335, and in some documents is dignified with the title of 
Earl of Lincoln. He died in Scotland about Michaelmas 1335, 
from the fatigues of the campaign of that year ; and his body was 
brought for interment to the abbey church of Barling, co. Line. 

Before the 8th of July in the following year, the Countess 
Alice had taken a third husband, one Hugh de Fresnes, a 
Knight of Artois ; who at that date obtained livery of the castle 
of Buelt in Wales, which had been previously granted to Eubulo 
le Strange. 1 He also was summoned to Parliament on the 29th 
Nov. and 14th Jan. following, but died in the month of De- 
cember, between those two summonses, likewise in Scotland, at 
St. John's town, now Perth. 2 

After these unfortunate marriages, the Countess Alice sur- 
vived for thirteen years a widow. She died at length without 
issue Oct. 2, 1348, in the 67th year of her age, and was buried 
in the church of Barling, by the side of her second husband 
Eubulo le Strange. 3 With this lady terminated the blood of 

1 Kennett, p. 427, from MS. Dodsworth, vol. 84, f. 41. 

a Walsingham. 

3 Inq. p. mort.; et Mon. Ang. ii. 190. 



154 DESCEND ENTS OF THE COUNTESS £LA. 

the Lacies and the elder line of the Longespes. Her estates 
went to Henry Earl of Lancaster, the brother and heir of her 
first husband, and contributed to swell that enormous rental of 
the Duchy of Lancaster, which afterwards encouraged John 
of Gaunt to aim after the Crown, and enabled his son Henry of 
Bolingbroke to grasp it. There is a small round seal of Alice 
de Laci, (but probably only her counter or privy seal,) bearing 
her father's and mother's arms, the single lion of Laci and the six 
lioncels of Longespe, impaled, inscribed s. alays de laci. 
(Seals, Plate II.) 

To return to the Children of the Countess Ela — 

2. Richard. He was a knight when he witnessed about 
1242 some charters of the Earl his brother. 1 He also witnessed 
one of the charters of his mother Ela to the Abbey of Lacock. 
He held the fourth part of a fee in Avinton, Berks, of the fee 
of William Longespe and the barony of Camville ; 2 and it is 
possible he may have been the Richard who possessed the manor 
ofBramley, in Surrey; though perhaps there is greater pro- 
bability that that person was his nephew. The Countess's son 
Richard died a Canon of Salisbury, and was buried at Lacock. 3 

3. Sir Stephan Longespe, Justice of Ireland. He was 
provided with competent estates by the bounty of his eldest 
brother; who in 1241 bestowed on him the manor and hun- 
dred of Sutton in Northamptonshire; 4 and in 1243 gave him 
the manor of Wamborough in Wiltshire. 5 In 1254 Stephan 

1 Printed in Kennett's Parochial Antiquities, p. 229, 230. 
See also, in p. 248, this Sir Richard de Longespe, Knt. (or his 
nephew of the same name) witnessing a charter of William 
Longespe the third, assigned to the year 1254. 

2 Testa de Nevill, pp. Ill, 124, 126. 

3 Book of Lacock. 

4 See Baker's Northamptonshire, vol. i. p. 693. 

5 Cart. Harl. (Brit. Mus.) 53 B. 14 j see also MS. Cotton. 
Julius, C. vii. f. 234. In the History of Surrey this is errone- 
ously applied to Wamborough, in that county ; but it clearly 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 155 

was appointed Seneschal of Gascony. l In 1255 he had a 
grant of the castle and town of Burgh super Mare in Cum- 
berland. 2 In 1258, when the castle of Sherborne was sur- 
rendered to the Barons, Walter de Bruges was directed to 
deliver it to Stephan Longespe; in the same year he was 
Castellan of Corfe Castle ; 3 and at the Parliament then 
held at Oxford, was one of the four counsellors (John de 
BailoL John de Gray, Stephan Longespe, and Roger de 
Montalt) sent by the Barons to direct the conduct of Prince 
Edward. 4 In the following year he was appointed Lord 
Justice of Ireland, and he died in that office in 1260. 5 He 
is styled Earl of Ulster in the Book of Lacock ; but, if he 
ever bore that title, it was probably only by courtesy, in conse- 
quence of his marriage with the dowager of a valiant soldier 
who had been made Earl of Ulster by King John. This was 
Hugh de Laci, who died in 1242, leaving as his widow Eme- 
line, daughter and heir of Walter de Ridelesford ; her subse- 
quent marriage with Stephan Longespe is shown by her charter 
to the Canons of Ashby in Northamptonshire, in which she 
mentions that the Prior and Canons had agreed to place in 
their Martirology the names of her Lords Hugh de Lacy and 
Stephan de Longespe', her own name, and those of Sir Walter 
de Ridelesford her father, Annora her mother, and Ela and 
Emeline her daughters. These daughters were by Stephan de 
Longespe ; for by her first husband she had given birth to one 
only daughter, Matilda, wife of Walter de Burgh, who became 
in right of his wife Earl of Ulster. 

The daughters of Stephan Longespe were both married. 

Ela was the wife of Roger la Zouche, of Ashby de la 

belongs to Wamborough in Wilts, where William Longespe 
held a knight's fee (Testa de Nevill, p. 139), and as is 
confirmed by the neighbouring places mentioned in the charter, 
the wood of Bradene, Neweham, Stoneham, and Voxborege. 

1 Rot. Vascon. 39 Hen. III. m. 5. 

2 Cal. Rot. Cart. p. 82. 3 Annals of Burton. * Ibid. 
5 Archdall's Peerage of Ireland, by Lodge, Vol. i. p. 63. 



156 DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 

Zouche in Leicestershire, who died in 1285, leaving his son 
Alan la Zouche, afterwards a Baron in Parliament, then 
eighteen years of age. This Alan commemorated his descent 
from the house of Salisbury upon his seal, by placing around 
his own shield, of ten bezants, the six lions from the shield of 
Longespe — a practice of which some other interesting instances 
are found previously to the commencement of quartering arms: l 
it is inscribed sigillvm alani la zouche. {Plate II.) Alan 
died in 1313, leaving, by Alianor, daughter of Nicholas de 
Segrave, three daughters his coheiresses : Ellen, wife of Nicho- 
las de St. Maur, then aged 36, and afterwards married to Alan 
de Cherleton ; Matilda, the wife of Robert Holand, aged 24 ; 
and Elizabeth, a nun at Brewode in Staffordshire, aged 20. 
Matilda became mother of Sir Thomas Holand, K.G. and the 
ancestress of the other great men of that illustrious house. 

In 1266 the names of Emeline de Lacy (probably the mother, 
retaining the name of her first husband) and Emeline de Lon- 
gespeye occur together in a claim to an estate. 3 The latter 
was in 1292 the widow of Maurice Fitz-Maurice of Ireland; 3 yet 
we find her using her maiden name in 1324-5 ; 4 and she died 
without issue (as is correctly stated in the Book of Lacock) 
in the year 1331. 5 Her husband, Maurice Fitz-Maurice, was 
a cadet of the great house of Fitz-Gerald, of Ireland ; being 
the third son of Maurice Fitz-Gerald, second Lord Offaley. 
He succeeded to the office of Lord Justice of Ireland in 1272 
(on the death of James Lord Audley, already mentioned in 



1 There is one so closely resembling the present that it 
seems to require to be mentioned. It is the seal of William 
Lord Clinton, afterwards Earl of Huntingdon, who married 
the heiress of the baronial family of Leybourne. That family, 
like the Longesp£'s, bore six lions for their arms, and these 
are disposed on his seal exactly as on the seal of Alan la 
Zouche. This is the more remarkable, as William de Clinton 
was descended from the Longespe's, being the younger son of 
John, mentioned hereafter, p. 163. 

2 Placit. Abbr. p. 165. 3 Ibid. p. 286. 

» Ibid. p. 351. 5 Esc, 5 Edw. III. n. 68. 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 157 

p. 148), and held it till the following year • and died at Ross 
in 1286, leaving issue one son, who died the same year at 
Rathmore, and a daughter Juliana, married in 1276 to the 
Lord Thomas de Clare, brother to Gilbert Earl of Gloucester, i 
The body of Stephan Longespe was interred at Lacock, but 
his heart at Bradenstoke. 2 It does not appear that he was a 
greater benefactor to Lacock Abbey than by the gift of two 
acres of his meadow at " Nineam." 3 There are some impres- 
sions of his seal in the British Museum, 4 presenting, as his 
shield of arms, his brother's six lions, differenced by a label of 
four points/ inscribed SIGILL' STCPHANI LVNGG6SPC. 
{Seals, Plate II.) 

4. Nicholas Longespe, Bishop of Salisbury. His mother, 
the Countess Ela, in her widowhood and liege power, granted 
to him the manor of Egeswere, in the vill of Colinges, (Suffolk ; 
see elsewhere, pp. 98, 264?) at the rent of one sparrow-hawk. 6 
In 1255 he was Rector of Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, and with 
the consent of his brother Stephan, the patron of that church, 
presented Simon de Hertford, chaplain, to the vicarage. 7 In 
1288 he was Rector of Wick ham, near Wingham, in Kent, the 
manor of which belonged to his kinsmen the Cliffords, and which 
he let in farm to the Vicar for a rent of seventy marks. 8 In 

1 Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, by Archdall, vol. i. p. 61 ; 
but Emeline is incorrectly given in p. 63, to Gerald Fitz-Mau- 
rice 3d Lord Offaley ; and it is added that she died in 1291, 
which is clearly erroneous, as shown by the records relating to 
her quoted above. 

3 Book of Lacock. 

3 See the Cartulary in the Appendix, fo. 86 b. 

* Harl. Cart. 53 B. 14, 15. 

5 " Estienne Longespee, d'azur a sis lioncealx d'or, ung labell 
de goules." Roll of Arms, temp. Hen. III. 8vo. 1829. 

6 Harleian Charter, (British Mus.) 53 B. 12. — Of the impres- 
sion of Ela's seal attached to the document, the engraver availed 
himself in the plate given in this work. 

7 Reg. Lexington, Clutterbuck's Herts, i. 379. 

8 Hasted's History of Kent, vol. iii. p. 662, and Thorpe's 
Registrum Roffense, p. 687. 



158 DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 

1290 he occurs as Rector of Lacock, 1 as well as Treasurer 
of the Cathedral of Salisbury; to the latter office he was ap- 
pointed in 1274 ; and promoted from it, when advanced in age, 
to the Bishopric of Sarum. No fewer than nine Bishops had in- 
tervened from the episcopate of Richard Poore, who attended 
the deathbed of the Earl his father." The temporalities of the see 
were rendered to him Dec. 16, 1291 ; 3 and he was consecrated 
at Canterbury on the 16th of March following. He died March 
18, 1297, probably at his manor-house of Ramsbury, for there 
his bowels were interred; his heart was brought to Lacock, 
and his body conveyed to his cathedral of Sarum, where it was 
interred at the entrance of the Chapel of the Virgin, under a 
blue slab, composed of two stones, of very extraordinary size, 
being 16 feet 8 inches long by 7 feet 8 inches broad ; 4 they 
they were inlaid, as Bishop Godwin notices, with brass-plates 
and the insignia of his family, being one of the most early 
monuments of that kind known to Mr. Gough ; 5 in whose time, 
however, the brass canopy work, &c. had been removed 
before the memory of man. Leland 6 has preserved an inscrip- 
tion, which is apparently not the original one : 

" Sub hoc lapide marmoreo desuper insculpto humatum est 
corpus Reverendi Patris Nicolai Longespe, quondam Sarum 
Episcopi, qui plurima huic contulit Ecclesie, et obiit 18 mens. 
Maii, a°.D. 1291 [1297], ex cujus parte australi jacet Robertus 
Wichamton, ex parte boreali Henricus Brandesburn requiescit." 

When the interments in the Lady Chapel were disturbed, 
during Mr. Wyatt's alterations, among several stone coffins 
uncovered, was one containing a chalice and patten, silver gilt, 
an agate ring, with the stone perforated, and a light pastoral 

4 See the composition he then made with the Nuns, in the 
Appendix, p. xxiii. 

2 Yet Mr. Cassan, in his Lives of the Bishops of Salisbury, 
has made him the same person ! 

3 Pat. 20 Edw. I. m. 29. 

4 Gough's Sepulc. Monuments, i. p. 67. 5 Ibid. p. cvii. 
6 Itinerary, vol. ii. f. 63. 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 159 

staff of wood ; the corpse they accompanied was ascribed by 
Mr. Gough to Bishop Longespe. 1 

It appears probable that Nicholas was married before he en- 
tered into holy orders. His mother Ela seems to speak of his 
actual circumstances, when, in the charter already noticed, 
she alludes to his heirs issuing from him " et uxore sua sibi 
desponsata ; " and it may be presumed that we have a son of 
the Bishop in 

William Longespeye, portionerof the church of Brocklesby 
in Lincolnshire, several of whose charters are preserved in the 
British Museum, 2 in which he is styled William son of Nicholas 
Longespd. These charters relate to his transactions with the 
abbey of Newhouse, and one of them is an indenture 3 of 
Ralph the Abbat and Convent, setting forth that, " they ac- 
knowledged with all their heart the laborious care and studious 
solicitude he had shown in conducting their business, and espe- 
cially for the great sum of money which he had liberally placed 
to the use of this monastery, and returned him very special 
thanks for his vast diligence by which their affairs had pro- 
ceeded favourably ; and therefore considered themselves espe- 
cially bound to do those things which they believed would con- 
tribute to the health of his soul, and likewise to his honour ; 
wherefore they granted him a special participation in all their 
masses, prayers, abstinences, vigils, works, and other good ser- 
vices, and moreover granted that two secular chaplains, of good 
and honest conversation, found at their expense, should cele- 
brate for twenty full years, from the feast of St. Mark 1324, in 
the church of Broclesby, for his soul, and the souls of his 
father, mother, parents, and all the faithful defunct." This 
mention of his ancestors without any of their names, is very 
tantalizing to the genealogist. 

The indenture, as well as several of the other charters^ has 
his seal appendant, which is of a small shield-shaped form, con- 

1 See the Sepulchral Monuments, vol. ii. p. ccxxxi*. 
* Had. Cart. 52 D. 23, 26, 53 B. 16—21. 
3 Ibid. 44 H. 20. 



160 DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA- 

taining a profile head, with this circumscription : s. will' 
lvngesp' d' broclosb'. (See Plate I. of Seals.) 

The Daughters of the Foundress of Lacock were: — 1. Isa- 
bella; 2. Petronilla; 3. Ela; and 4. Ida. 1 

1. Isabella, who was married to William de Vesci, a Baron 
of Northumberland, and one of her father's wards (see his will, 
p. 144.) He was the son of Eustace de Vesci, by Margaret, 
daughter of William King of Scotland. She died without 
issue, and her husband afterwards married a daughter of the 
Earl of Derby, who was the mother of his family. 

2. Petronilla. She died a virgin, and was buried at Bra- 
denstoke, under a marble stone, at the right hand of the grave 
of her grandmother the Countess Alianor. (Book of Lacock.) 

3. Ela. She was twice married ; first to Thomas Newburgh, 
Earl of Warwick, who died June 26, 1242 ; secondly to Philip 
Basset, of Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, son of William Bas- 
set, Chief Justice of England. She became the second time a 
widow in 1271 , and survived for many years after, a very wealthy 
lady, having had no children by either husband. In 1285 
she was returned as holding the manor of Hoke-Norton in Ox- 
fordshire, in capite, by the sergeanty of carving be/ore our lord 
the King on Christmas s Day , when she had for her fee the King's 
knife with which she cut. 2 We find several records of her 
piety, particularly in Oxford and its vicinity ; for she seems to 
have lived during her widowhood at Headington, only two 

1 Such is the clear enumeration of their names, as stated 
for the second time in the Book of Lacock (see the Appendix, 
p. iii.); and their first enumeration, (ibid. p. ii.) when properly 
understood, agrees with it, excepting in omitting Petronilla, 
who died young. Dugdale, consulting that first passage only, 
enumerates, in his Baronage, five without Petronilla ; namely, 
Isabel, Ela, Idonea (Ida), Lora, and another Ela. The two 
last, it will be perceived, are Lorica and Ela Fitz- Walter, 
the daughters of Ida, and granddaughters of the Countess Ela, 
the Foundress of Lacock. 

2 Placit. Coron. 13 Edw. I. rot. 30. 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 161 

miles from that city. 1 She gave to the University 120 marks 
for loans to poor scholars ; for which a chest was forthwith 
ordered to be made by the Chancellor and Proctors, to be 
thenceforth called the Warwick Chest ; and several orders 
were made for its regulation, among which was this, that 
" when the mass priest and public servant of the University 
should circuit the schools every year according to custom, 
reciting the names of Benefactors, they should in their reci- 
tation name Ela Countess of Warvoick next to King Henry III. 
being his kinswoman." The Chest was existing in the reign 
of Edward IV. 2 To Merton College she gave some lands, 
for whicli the Fellows were to celebrate services on her 
behalf. She also founded a chantry in the nunnery of God- 
stow, where her grandmother Fair Rosamund lay interred ; 
and where, until the Preformation, two chaplains received 
t£7. 7 s. yearly, for the daily celebration of masses for her 
soul, and 25s. were distributed in alms every year on the 
feast of the Lord's Supper. To Rewley abbey, in the same 
vicinity, she gave some lands, as Leland mentions -, 3 and there 
she also built a chapel, the foundation stone of which was dis- 
covered in 1705, bearing this inscription: d. ela longesp' 
comit' warew' h'nc capellam fecit, c'j' p'miv' sit xp'c 
in gl'a. am'. At the same place, in Dr. Stukeley's time, 5 
was a stone with this inscription : ele de warwik comitisse 
viscera svnt Hie. To the neighbouring abbey of Ousney, 

1 The manor-house of Headington is supposed to have been 
a residence of the Saxon Kings. It had descended to the 
family of Basset. In the seventeenth century, considerable 
traces of foundations were noticed by Dr. Plot in a field called 
Court Close. 

2 See further particulars in Wood's Annals of Oxford, by 
Gutch, vol. i. p. 344. 

3 Itinerary, vol. ii. fol. 20. 

4 It is now preserved in the Bodleian Library. A fac-simile 
of the inscription is engraved in Leland's Itinerary, 1770, 
vol. ii. p. 125 ; and another, more accurate, in Skelton's Ox- 
onia Restaurata, vol. ii. 

5 Itinerarium Curiosum, i. 45. 

M 



162 DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 

where her body was buried, Leland says <l she gave many 
rich jewels, but no lands." To Reading abbey she gave 
the manor of South wood in the isle of Ely. 1 She was like- 
wise a benefactress of the Abbey of Lacock, by procuring 
for the Society the right of chiminage through the Royal 
Forests. In the year 1287 we find the Countess of Warwick 
visiting Lacock, on which occasion she quit-claimed to the 
abbey her title in the manor of Hatherop. 2 She died on 
Sunday Feb. 6, 1297, and was buried at Ousney Abbey, 
near Oxford, where Leland saw her tomb, " a very fair flat 
marble, in the habit of a vowess, graven in a copper plate." 

Two Seals of this lady are extant. The first closely resem- 
bles that of her Mother (p. 169), having on one side her own 
figure holding a hawk, and on the other side the arms of 
Longespe, in a shield, with a lion above and below ; it is in- 
scribed on both sides S. 6L6 LVnGGSPeYC C0MITISS6 
WARWIC. 

In her second Seal, the coat of Basset (wavy Or and Gules) 
is substituted for that of Longespe" ; the latter is placed in her 
hand, on the obverse, instead of the hawk, and is balanced by 
the coat of Newburgh, (cheeky Or and Azure, a chevron 
Ermine,) placed over her right shoulder. The inscription on 
both sides is SIGILLVM 6L6 BASSGT COMITISS6 WARC- 
W YKI6. These seals are engraved in the accompanying Plate. 



4. Ida. She was married to Walter Fitz-Robert, son of the 
famous Robert Fitz-Walter, iC the Marshal of the army of 
God," who headed the confederated Barons against King John. 
He succeeded his father in 1234, and died in 1257 ; leaving a 
son Robert, the ancestor, by Devorgoil, daughter of John de 
Burgh, of the long line of Barons Fitz-Walter, of Essex. Ida 
had also three daughters : Katharine and Lorica, both nuns at 

1 See the charter (Cart. Harl. 54 D. 15) printed in the new 
Monasticon, vol. iv. p. 45. 
9 See hereafter, p. 278. 



SEALS, Plate HI. 



162. 




Vl'/c/rJ ('/ ( A/ f'r>// ///<■/,) f/ f/ff ///•/!•/• . 









P*v * 



DESCENDENTS OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 163 

Lacock; and Ela, married ' to William de Odingsells, of 
Maxstoke in Warwickshire ; of whom this anecdote has been 
preserved by Matthew Paris, that at a tournament at Brack- 
ley in 1249, after the party of foreigners headed by the King's 
step-brother William de Valence, had obtained the victory, with 
the assistance of Richard Earl of Gloucester, who had previously 
supported the English party and was much blamed for changing 
sides, they used very ill William de Odingsells, a brave knight, 
who sided with the bachelors (militem strenuum, qui Bachela- 
riis annumerabatur). Sir William de Odingsells left a son 
Edmund, who died soon after, and four daughters, who became 
coheirs: 1. Ida, married to John Lord Clinton, of Maxstoke 
in her right, and lineal ancestor of the present Duke of New- 
castle ; 2. Alice, wife first of Maurice de Caunton, and se- 
condly of Ralph de Perham ; 3. Ela, married first to Peter 
de Bermingham, and secondly to Eustace le Poer ; and 4. 
Margaret, married to John Lord Grey of Rotherfield. Ela de 
Bermingham had a daughter Ela, the wife of Philip Purcel. 2 

Ida, the daughter of the Foundress of Lacock, was in 1235 
the wife of William Beauchamp, Baron of Bedford, who in 
that year obtained a charter to himself and Ida his wife, " the 
Kings cousin" of the manor of Newport, of her dowry, It 
was at her instigation, according to Matthew Paris, " for he 
was uxorious," that, i( learning to attack men of religion rather 
than men of war, he greatly troubled the monks of Wardon, 
in Bedfordshire, and oppressed in various ways the Canons of 
Newnham, whom he ought to have cherished and favoured." 
This is mentioned by Matthew Paris under the year 1252, and 
with respect to Newnham in the Annals of Dunstable under 

1 The Book of Lacock says " quam duxit primo Gulielmus 
de Dodingseles ; " so that we may suppose Ela Fitz-Walter 
had a second husband. The sentence is imperfect (see Ap- 
pendix, p. ii.) As printed in the Monasticon, these words 
immediately follow, "ex qua genuit Robertumj" but the 
name of his wife " Dernegoill" shows that the person intended 
is Robert Fitz-Walter, the son of Ida Longespe, not of her 
daughter Ela de Odingseles. 

2 Dugdale's Warwickshire (by Thomas), p. 941. 

M 2 



164 RECORDS OF THE LONGESPES. 

1254*. The same annals mention her with reproach, on the 
death of her husband in 1260, when she received her dower at 
her own disposal, and, says the annalist, inflicted enormous 
damages on Simon de Pateshull at the manor of Cranley. 

By William Beauchamp, Ida had three sons, William, Simon, 
and John, who all died without issue male ; and three daugh- 
ters, Maud, Beatrix, and Ela. Maud was the wife first of 
Roger de Mowbray, by whom she was ancestress of the Dukes 
of Norfolk, and afterwards of Roger le Strange ; Beatrix was 
the wife of Thomas Fitz-Otes; and Ela was the wife of Bald- 
win Wake, who had three daughters, Joan, Ida, and Isabel. 
Thus we find the names of Ela of Salisbury and her daughters 
handed down for successive generations. The Ida (Wake) last 
mentioned seems to have been married to John de Steingreve. 
(Dugdaie's Baronage, vol. i. p. 224.) 



ROGER BISHOP OF COVENTRY AND LICHFIELD, 
A PRESUMED LONGESPE. 

This personage, who was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield 
from 1257 to 1293, bore the surname of Meuleng or Meulent, 
probably from having been born at Meulan in France, for it is 
recorded that when made a Bishop he knew very little of the 
English language ! He was certainly related to the Royal 
family, being styled " nepos" to King Henry, and to Richard 
Earl of Cornwall, both in the account which Matthew Paris 
gives of his election, and in the official documents relating to it, 
which are preserved in the Annals of Burton. As it does not 
appear how he could be nephew to King Henry the Third, it 
has been supposed that he was a Longespe, and his name is 
consequently found in several authors with that alias. In the 
History of Staffordshire, indeed, (vol. i. p. 268.) he is directly 
stated to have been " the third son of William Longespe, Earl 
of Salisbury, and Eva his wife," (probably from confusion 
with the Bishop of Salisbury) ; and in a note in the same 
place is mentioned a conjecture of Dr. Pegge, that he was a 
natural son of the Earl of Salisbury, as " the Italians use the 
word Nepos with latitude." This latter hypothesis might be 
considered not improbable, had the surname Longespi been 
ascribed to him by any ancient authority ; but that does not 
appear to be the case ; and therefore the connection of Bishop 
Ro^er de Meulan with the house of Longespe" is hitherto un- 
substantiated. 






RECORDS OF THE LONGESPES. 165 

We might, perhaps, with greater probability, imagine that 
the Earl had a natural son in one John Longespe, whom we 
find employed in various commissions respecting the King's 
horses, in the years 1214— 1215. * He was rewarded with the 
land of Manasser de Hastings, 2 and with that of Roger Parle- 
bien in Kent, 3 in the year 1215 ; and in 1218 with the house 
of Moses of Cambridge, the Jew in Canterbury, also given him 
by the late King John. 4 He died in 1220; for the King then 
granted to William le Chareter, the daily pension of twopence, 
which John Longespe was wont to receive of the gift of King 
John, from the almonry of Canterbury. 5 

In the 19th Edw. II. we meet with a Robert de Longspe, of 
Loddington in Northamptonshire, who was outlawed for felony 
in 19 Edw. II. and was then found to hold lands at Lodding- 
ton, of Richard Longspe, as parcel of the manor of Rowell. 6 

There was a Thomas Longespey who was a juror of the extent 
of the town of Richmond in Yorkshire, made in 8 Edw. I.; 7 
another, a juror at an inquest held at Northallerton, in 
7 Edw. III. 8 ; and a Sir Thomas Longespey, who being a rebel 
in 33 Edw. III. his name occurs in the Esc. pars 2, n. 59, for 
lands at Brumpton near Northallerton, and Neuton, near Pa- 
trick Brumpton ; his lands were granted to Isolda de Pakenham. 9 

One William Lunghespee also appears in the same county, as 
witness to three charters without date. 10 

A William Longespe paid aid for the manor of Wickham 
Breausin Kent, in 20 Edw. III. (1346). ll 

Richard Longespey was in 1318 presented to the rectory 
of Wermyncham, Cheshire ; and in 1337, being still parson of. 
that church, received a grant of the reversion of the manor and 
advowson of Wlllesbye from John Trussel, of Cublesdon. 13 

John Longspee, of Raggenhill, Notts, was collated to the 
Archdeaconry of Stow, Nov. 6, 1334, and quitted it in the fol- 
lowing March ; 13 and a John Longespy, of Dunham, close to 
Ragnall, with Sibel his wife, daughter of Robert Russell, of 
Oulcotes, Notts, occurs in a plea 2 Hen. V. concerning lands in 
Oulcotes and Stirop. u 

To these we may also add a Reginald Longespy, who was in- 
stituted Rector of Abinger, Surrey, April 4, 1404, and resigned 
in the following year for the church of Heyghton, Sussex ; ,5 

I Calendar of Clause Rolls, i. 175, 176, 190. 

9 Ibid. p. 231. 3 Ibid. p. 232. 4 Ibid. s Ibid. p. 428. 
,J Inq. ad quod Damn. 7 Gale's Honor Richm. A pp. p. 48. 
8 Ibid. p. 174. ! ' Rot. Pat. 33 Edw. III. m. 7. 

10 Drake's York, pp. 605, 619, 620. 

II Hasted's Kent, vol. iii. p. 658. 

,Q Cart. Cotton, xxix. 87. ' 3 Willis's Cathedr. ii. 127. 

14 Thoroton's Notts, p. 471. ' 5 History of Surrey, ii. 143. 



166 



CHAPTER VII. 

The widowhood of the Countess Ela — The Earldom of Salis- 
bury — Shrievalty of Wiltshire — Seal of the Countess Ela — 
Her Son's Marriage — Foundation of the Priory of Hinton 
Charterhouse and the Nunnery of Lacock — Descriptive 
notices of Hinton Priory. 

Having followed to his grave the heroic and 
pious William Longespe, our thoughts are naturally 
fixed on his widow, the virtuous matron and affec- 
tionate mother of eight children, devoting herself to 
God and the care of her offspring, and the memory 
of her husband, for the remainder of her desolate 
days upon earth. 

When Ela was now actually left a widow, she was 
either not exposed to further matrimonial suitors, 
or, if she was, she continued firm in her resolution 
to remain faithful to the memory of her first lord, 
and to maintain her independence in what was then 
termed, in legal language, " a free widowhood/' 
Reimund de Burgh, and his uncle the potent Jus- 
ticiary, could scarcely venture, after their recent re- 
pulse, again to solicit her attention, with any hope 
of success. If other suitors, with equal hardi- 
hood, obtruded a similar offer, it is certain she met 
them with as resolute a denial. Her choice, how- 
ever, was singular : for ladies of large estate, at that 
period, were seldom permitted to remain cither as 



THE EARLDOM OF SALISBURY. 167 

virgins or widows, without a lord and protector, 
unless they had arrived at an advanced period of 
life. Her case was evidently deemed extraordinary, 
and so we find it mentioned in the chronicles.* 

It is probable that, if Ela had accepted a second 
husband, he would have acquired a title to the 
Earldom of Salisbury, as complete, during her life, 
as Longespe himself had enjoyed ; so closely at that 
period did the rights of inheritance attach them- 
selves to the husbands of heiresses.^ We are in- 
formed that her Son, when he became of age, 

* " Post viri sui obitum, virum omnem respuens, vitam cas- 
titatis continuendo in domo religionis quam ipsa a fundamentis 
construxerat, post paucorura elapsum annorum habitum cum 
velo suscepit sanctimonialis." Chronicon Roffense, MS. Cotton. 
Nero, D. n. f. 132. 

f Thus, at the same period, the heiress of Albemarle had 
conferred the dignity of Earl successively on her three hus- 
bands, William Mandeville, William de Fortibus, and Baldwin 
de Betun • it afterwards descended to her son and heir, who 
was born of the second husband. Isabel of Gloucester was the 
wife first of John (afterwards King), and secondly of Geoffrey 
de Mandeville, who were both Earls of Gloucester in her right. 
In the reign of Edward the First there was an instance of a 
man becoming an Earl by marrying a widow only, without her 
being an heiress, (as is said to have happened to Stephan de 
Longespe, see p. 155) ; but in that instance the Countess was 
one of the King's daughters. Her husband, Ralph de Mont- 
hermer, was Earl of Gloucester and Hertford so long as the 
Princess Joan lived ; but on her death the dignity left him, 
and devolved on Gilbert de Clare the son and heir of the 
Princess by her first husband, whilst Ralph de Monthermer 
survived her for seventeen years in the rank of a Baron only. 



168 THE EARLDOM OF SALISBURY. 

claimed investiture of the Earldom : but that the 
King refused it, not in displeasure but judicialiter* 
that is, by the advice of his judges, and according 
to the principles of feudal law. The objection pro- 
bably was, that the Earldom was then vested in his 
Mother. Thus, Ela's entrance into the profession of 
a recluse, may possibly have partaken of a worldly 
motive, as being likely to facilitate her Son's ad- 
mittance to his hereditary dignity ; but, if so, it 
was still unsuccessful. In consequence of her pro- 
tracted life, the Earldom of Salisbury continued dor- 
mant ; and, as she survived both her son and grand- 
son, was never renewed in the house of Longespe\ 

The office of Sheriff of Wiltshire, her right by 
inheritance from the Domesday Edward, and that 
of Castellan of Old Sarum, she was permitted to 
exercise in person.-}* 

It was at this period of her " free widowhood," 
and official importance, that a Seal, of the hand- 
some dimensions then considered appropriate to 
her dignity, became necessary for the ratification of 
the legal instruments, required in the administration 
of her feudal rights, her wide estates, and official 

* See his interview with the Pope, hereafter. 

f Not uninterruptedly from her husband's death j but first 
for three parts of the year 11 Hen. III. and likewise for the 
following year ; but not again until the fifteenth of that reign, 
at which time she paid a fine of 200 marks to have the custody 
(i. e. the shrievalty) of the county and the castle of Sarum, 
during her whole life. (Dugdale, from Rot. Pip.) She exer- 
cised the office until she became a nun, in 21 Hen. III. 



SEAL OF THE COUNTESS ELA. 169 

jurisdictions. Of this elegant work of ancient art 
a representation is placed before the reader ; and, 
though we can scarcely regard it, like the effigy of 
Longespe in Salisbury Cathedral, as a portrait of 
the Countess Ela, yet we may contemplate it as the 
faithful resemblance of her noble and dignified de- 
portment, and of her graceful though simple cos- 
tume. Her right hand is on her breast ; on her 
left hand stands a hawk, the usual symbol of no- 
bility, in the figures of both sexes ; * on her head 
is a singularly small cap, possibly the precursor of 
the more recent coronet ; her long hair flows negli- 
gently upon her neck — on each side the royal lions 
of Salisbury appear to gaze upon her, like thelioju 
in Spenser, on the desolate Una ! 

Such was the appearance of the august widow, 
when, in the midst of her pious sorrow, she devoted 
herself for a season to the duties of her feudal 
dignity and provincial sovereignty ; but from the 
trammels of which, as we shall presently see, she 
soon hastened to relieve herself. 

Her eldest son was a minor at the time of his 
father's death, and for some years after ; but he had 
been already provided with a wife of ample domains, 
the heiress of the two baronies of Hay in Lincoln- 
shire, and Camville in the county of Oxford and 
elsewhere. *)~ The marriage of this lady, Idonea, 

* In this and other respects the costume of the figure closely 
corresponds with those on the seals of her daughter Ela Coun- 
tess of Warwick at p. 162. 

f Madox's History of the Exchequer, p. 218. 



170 MARRIAGE OF ELA's SON. 

the daughter of Richard de Camville, by Eustachia, 
daughter of Gilbert Basset, and granddaughter of 
Gerard de Camville, by Nichola, daughter of Richard 
de Hay, had been granted to the Earl on the 22d 
of April 1216, specially for the advantage of his 
eldest son William. # In 1226 they were already 
married;-}*' but in 1231 young Longesp6 was still 
a minor, though Idonea had attained her majority. J 

* " Mandatum est Vic. Oxon. et Bercsir. quod habere fac. 
W. Com. Sarr. maritagium filie Ric. de Campvill genite de 
Eustachia que fuit filia Gileberti Basset, uxore ipsius Ricardi, 
ad opus Willielmi filii sui primogeniti de Ela uxore sua Comi- 
tissa Sarr. cum totahereditate sua contingente ipsam filiam ejus- 
dem Ricardi in baillivis suis ex parte matris suae. T. Me ipso 
ap. Reygate, xxij die Aprilis 1216." Clause Rolls. 

f " R. Vic. Oxon. salutem. Sciatis quod W. Longspe quon- 
dam Comes Sarum fuit nobiscum in exercitu nostro Muntgu- 
mery. Et ideo tibi praecipimus quod de Scutagio quod per 
summon. Scacc. exigis a Willielmo Longspe filio et haerede 
ipsius Comitis pro exercitu illo, de feodis militum qua? ipse 
Comes habuit in custodia ,cum filia et haerede Ricardi de Cam- 
vill, quam prcedictus Willielmus Longspe duxit in uxorem, pacem 
ei habere permittas. Teste R. 21 Septemb." Kennett's Paro- 
chial Antiquities, p. 200 ; where also is the mandate for another 
favour, which seems too insignificant to have been worth asking 
of the King, or saving from the lawful fees of the Sheriff: 
" Mandat. est Vic. Oxon. quod de bove quern exigit a Williel- 
mo Longspe pro seisina terrae quae fuit Ricardi de Camvill, 
cujus filiam et haeredem duxit in uxorem, pacem habere 
facias, &c." 

\ This appears from the records of a trial in Hilary term 15 
Hen. III. wherein William Longespe and Idonea were defen- 
dants, and would have stayed the process because he was under 
age ; but, the action being laid on account of his wife, who was 



FOUNDATION OF LACOCK NUNNERY. 171 

We. at length approach the time of the founda- 
tion of Lacock Nunnery. When, says the Book 
of Lacock, " Ela had now survived her husband for 
seven years in widowhood, and had frequently pro- 
posed to found monasteries pleasing to God, for 
the salvation of her soul, and of that of her hus- 
band, and those of all their ancestors, she was di- 
rected in visions (per revelationes) that she should 
build a monastery in honour of St. Mary and St. 
Bernard, in the meadow called Snails' Mead, near 
Lacock. Accordingly, on the 16th of April 1232, 
when she was in the 45th year of her age, she 
founded two monasteries, in one day ; in the morn- 
ing that of Lacock, in which holy canonesses might 
dwell, continually and most devoutly serving God ; 
and in the afternoon the priory of Henton, of the 
Carthusian order/' 

Thus minute is the historian of Lacock in the 
date of this proceeding. As, however, there is proof 
that the foundation of both monasteries, by charter, 
had taken place some time before, it might be 
thought that the foundation of their buildings was 
here intended ; and that the Countess Ela, on that 
memorable day, having witnessed in the morning 
the commencement of the works at Lacock, pro- 
ceeded thence to Hinton, a distance of about fifteen 
miles, and there, in person, laid the first stone of 
the Carthusian monastery. 

of full age, the plea was overruled; and the case is cited as a 
precedent by Bracton, lib. 5, f. 423. 



172 MONASTERY OF HATHEROP. 

Here, however, another difficulty presents itself; 
for a chronicle is extant, which, with equal minute- 
ness in point of date, informs us that the Countess 
founded the church of the canons at Hinton on the 
6th of November 1227.* 

It will be shown in the next chapter that the 
first legal steps for the foundation of Lacock were 
certainly taken in 1229. The present chapter shall 
be closed with some brief notices of the sister, but 
evidently somewhat earlier, foundation of Hinton. 

The same chronicle which has just been quoted, 
fixes the first foundation of this Carthusian house, 
by Earl William Longespe, to the feast of St. 
Mary Magdalen, in the year 1222. He then gave 
to God and the order of Chartreuse his manor of 
Hatherop in Gloucestershire.^ The charter of this 
gift is not preserved ; but in his will, made in Lent 
1225, the establishment is mentioned under the 
name of Locus Dei. He therein gives for the 
building of the house, all the profits of his valu- 
able wardship of Idonea Camville, until the full 
age of his heir, to whom Idonea was married ; also 
a rich store of sacred vessels and vestments ; and 

* — " transtulit eos ad manerium de Hentona ; et in parte 
ejusdem manerujundavit ecclesiam eorum, anno D. 1227, 8 idus 
Novembris." Chronicle in the library of Lincoln college, Ox- 
ford, quoted in Leland's Collectanea, vol. ii. p. 344. 

f Kennett, in his Parochial Antiquities, p. 202, mistook this 
for Heythrop in Oxfordshire, now the magnificent seat of the 
Earl of Shrewsbury near Chipping Norton ; and the same mis- 
take is repeated in Skelton's Antiquities of Oxfordshire, 4to. 
1823. 



MONASTERY OF HATHEROP. 173 

the largest proportion of the cattle which he dis- 
tributed among so many monasteries. # 

The Carthusians, however^ were not satisfied 
with their location in Gloucestershire. Although, 
says the charter of the Countess Ela, " the monks 
and brethren destined for that place had remained 
there for many years (about five as it seems), they 
had not been able to find in the tenements be- 
stowed on them by the Earl,^ a place suitable 
to their order." Therefore it was that the Countess 
Ela, attending to their representation, and being 
desirous under God's direction to perfect what 
her husband had so well begun, resumed the 
estates of Hatherop, &c, and, " in her legal power 
and widowhood," granted, in exchange for them, J 
her manor of Henton in Somersetshire, with the 
advowson of the church, the park, and all other its 
appurtenances ; and also the adjoining manor and 
advowson of Norton ; to found and sustain for ever 
a Carthusian house, in the honour of God, the 
blessed Mary, St. John the Baptist, and all Saints, 
to be erected in the park of Henton, at the place 
which, like its predecessor at Hatherop, should be 
called the Locus Dei. This charter § was con- 

* See the will before, p. 143. 

f The manor of Atherop, the wood of Braden with its en- 
tirety, and the land of Cheleworth (near Chicklade) which he 
had of the gift of Henry Basset. 

X Ela afterwards assigned the manor of Hatherop to her own 
foundation at Lacock, as will appear hereafter. 

§ It will be found in the Appendix to this work, No. II. 



174 HINTON CHARTERHOUSE. 

firmed by a royal Inspeximus, in the 12th year of 
Henry III. (1227-8), a circumstance which supports 
the date given in the anonymous chronicle, that the 
church of Henton was founded on the 6th of No- 
vember 1227. 

Connected as Hinton Priory was, in the circum- 
stances of its original foundation, with the Nunnery 
of Lacock, I have much pleasure in closing this 
chapter with a brief description * of its present re- 
mains, particularly as I cannot find that they have 
ever yet received more than very superficial atten- 
tion from topographers and tourists. 

On approaching the spot, the stranger is struck 
by the appearance of the old boundary wall of the 
Priorv precinct, covered with ivy. It is remarkable 
that the attention of Leland was attracted to " a 
rude stone waulle by a great lenghte, as it had 
beene a park waulle," but it is not clear that it was 
exactly the same. It does not appear that the old 

* Contributed by Mr. J. G. Nichols, with whom I was con- 
ducted to the spot by our hospitable friend the Rev. John 
Skinner, F.S.A, of Camerton, on the 15th of July 1834 ; who 
also has communicated the following remarks : " When Leland 
visited Farley Castle, he must have taken the lower road to 
Freshford, where he crossed the Frome river, and descended 
by the Roman vicinal way, passing out of Wiltshire in the di- 
rection of Trowbridge or Bradford, through the village of 
Westwood, which joined the road from Verlucio, or War- 
minster, to Bath, on the top of Hinton hill. By this approach 
Hinton abbey appeared placed on the summit of the hill, and 
answers well to the description he gives of it." 



HINTON CHARTERHOUSE. 175 

topographer visited the Priory itself. He seems 
only to have ridden past; and while he is particular 
in describing his journey, his information of the 
monastic buildings was principally derived from 
report : — 

" From Farley (says Leland) I rid a mile off, by 
woody ground, to a Grange great and well builded, 
that belonged to Henton Priory of Carthusians. 
This Priory standeth not far off from this Grange 
on the brow of a hill, about a quarter of a mile from 
the further ripe (bank) of Frome ; and not far from 
this place Frome goeth into Avon. 

" I rode, by the space of a mile or more, by 
woods and mountain ground, to a place where I 
saw a rude stone wall hard on the right hand a 
great length, as it had been a park wall. One 
since told me that Henton Priory first stood there §* 
if it be so, it is the lordship of Hethorp that was 
first given to them for their first habitation. And 
about a mile further I came to a village, and passed 
over a stone bridge where ran a little brook they 
called Mitford Water." 

The remains of Hinton Priory now consist of 
two distinct buildings, 105 feet distant from each 
other. One is a lofty structure, distinguished by 
several high gables. On the north side of this 

* Could this be the actual site of the Priory, which Le- 
land had previously imagined to be on another site ? Thence 
might arise his misapprehension respecting Hatherop, which, 
as before noticed, is in Gloucestershire. 



176 HINTON CHARTERHOUSE. 

building the commencement of some beautifully 
light groining is still remaining, and is presumed to 
point out the situation of the church, as three stone 
coffins were found there in 1820.* In the southern 
portion of the same building is a handsome apart- 
ment, which, from its general appearance, is now 
commonly called the chapel ; but, as there are no 
signs of altars or piscinae, nor sepulchral stones, and 
as there is reason to suppose the church stood where 
it has been already mentioned, it may be fairly pre- 
sumed that this was the Chapter-house, particularly 
as the door clearly opened upon the Cloisters. This 
Chapter-house (as we will venture to call it) is en- 
tered from the west by an elegant pointed door ; 
it has a fine groined roof, and is 36 feet long by 16 
feet wide. It is lighted by a triple lancet window 
at the east end, and single lancets at the sides, 
through which the dark trees, without, have a strik- 
ing effect. Here literally we were saluted by the 
wren and the robin, as if they had come on purpose 
from Lacock, to meet us again, amid the ivied and 
solitary arches of Hinton. 

From the north-west corner we proceed to a circu- 
lar stone staircase, the masonry of which is very 
perfect. There are two floors above, in the centre 
of the building, and one above the Chapter-house ; 

* In 1827 several stone coffins were found in the burial- 
ground of the parish church. One of them is in the Bishop's 
Museum at Wells, having been presented to his Lordship by 
the late Rev. Benjamin Richardson, of Farley Castle. 






HINTON CHARTERHOUSE. 177 

the rooms in which present nothing very remark- 
able. 

Proceeding hence to the other building, we find it 
to have been connected with that already described 
by a cloister, the line of which corresponds with the 
present walk within the garden wall. Here, in 
front of a garden seat, a portion of the pavement, 
formed of encaustic tiles, has been laid open. The 
weather has now nearly defaced them ; but several 
elegant patterns may be observed, and one presents 
a shield of the keys and sword in saltire, the arms 
of the see of Bath and Wells. 

The second building contains on the ground floor 
two apartments. The largest of these, which we 
will style the Refectory, is a chamber 31 feet 6 inc. 
in length by 21 feet 6 inc. in breadth, with a groined 
roof, supported by two octagon columns 4 feet 6 inc. 
in circumference. A small cantle is taken out of 
the south-west corner to form the entrance from the 
exterior to another apartment, occupying the western 
end of this building, and which was either the Ab- 
bat's parlour or a kitchen. A very large stone fire- 
place may induce the ordinary visitor to assign it to 
the latter destination. This is indeed a great cu- 
riosity, being distinguished by small columns on 
each side with Norman capitals ; which clearly 
prove that it is an antiquity equal to any part of 

* In this apartment is the cast-iron back of an old grate, 
with the date 1552, and ornamented with a shield of the arms of 
King Philip, borne by an Imperial eagle, crowned. 

N 



178 HINTON CHARTERHOUSE. 

the building. Its width is seven feet. The dimen- 
sions of this apartment are 19 feet by 11 feet 6 in. 

By an exterior flight of steps, (probably in the 
situation, at least, of the original stairs,) we ascend 
to the upper floor, which is one grand chamber, 
measuring 46 feet by 22. There are here no ori- 
ginal windows ; but there is no reason to suppose 
that any alteration has been made in the dimen- 
sions of the room, or to doubt that this was the 
Dormitory. 

The whole building shows very little innovation 
from the style prevailing at its first erection, and the 
masonry throughout is particularly fine ; the few 
sculptured bosses and foliage which remain being 
perfectly sharp. 

On the surrender of Henton Priory, in 1541, the 
community consisted of a Prior and twenty-one 
Monks ; among the latter was one Hugh Laycocke, 
who, with one other, received the highest rate of 
pension, which was g£8. 

Just twenty years before, there was a monk of 
Hinton whose name has found a place in the history 
of England, as having contributed to the ruin of 
the first subject in the realm. We cannot leave 
these ruins without a passing remembrance of that 
" false hypocrite," Nicholas Hopkins, through whose 
" false-forged prophecies" the weak but magnificent 
Duke of Buckingham, the last of the great house of 
Stafford, was fatally betrayed in the year 1521. Hop- 
kins had been " sometime the Duke's Confessor," 



HINTON CHARTERHOUSE. 179 

and being " vainly reputed to have, by way of reve- 
lation, foreknowledge of things to come," the 
Duke sent several times from his princely castle of 
Thornbury (the Fonthill of that age), to the seques- 
tered abbey of Hinton, in order to receive his de- 
lusive auguries ; and twice, at least, he visited Hin- 
ton in person, and was told that he should come to 
be King. All which will be found detailed at 
length in the Chronicles of Hall and Holinshed. 

In 37 Henry VIII. the site of Hinton Priory was 
granted to John Bartlet ; who sold it to Matthew 
Coulthurst. His son sold it, in 21 Eliz. to Walter 
Hungerford. It continued in that family until the 
beginning of the last century ; when Sir Edward 
Hungerford sold it to Walter Robinson, Esq. grand- 
father of Stocker Robinson, Esq. who, at his death 
in 1781, left two sisters his coheirs, Margaret the 
wife of James Humphreys, Esq. and Ellen, the wife 
of Joseph Frowd, Esq. The daughter of Mr. 
Humphreys was married to the late George Clarke 
Symonds, Esq. A fine old mansion, situated at a 
very short distance from the ruins, and apparently 
raised out of them, at a period subsequent to the 
Reformation, is now inhabited by Mrs. Symonds, 
to whom we are indebted for many civilities. 



N "1 



180 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The transactions relative to the foundation of Lacock Nun- 
nery, and notices of the first Charters — Constantia de Legh 
assistant to the foundation — Alicia de Garinges the first Ca- 
noness — The Augustine Rule. 

In the foundation of her Nunnery, the Countess 
Ela had undertaken a task which was calculated as 
much for a season to add to her employments, as 
it afterwards contributed to her repose. To the 
religious cares attendant on the formation of the 
Society, and the arrangements necessary for their 
pious government, was added the selection of a 
site for their habitation, and of adequate revenues 
for their support; and, more than all, the due 
transaction of those legal forms which the laws of 
the country required. 

All this could not be effected at once ; and hence 
it is that, whilst we find what is called the "founda- 
tion " of the Abbey assigned by several authorities 
to the year 1*232, a earlier date unquestionably be- 
longs to some of the preliminary measures. 

From a chronicle formerly in the Cottonian col- 
lection of MSS.* the following entries were ex- 
tracted by Dugdale : — 

* Vitellius, A. vm. (now destroyed by fire.) 






FOUNDATION OF LACOCK ABBEY. 181 

AnnoMCCxxn, Hoc annovelanturprimb moniales de Lakoc. 

A. mccxxiii. Isto anno primitus fundatur coenobiuro de 
Lacok. 

A. mccxxxviii. Hoc anno nobilis matrona, domina Ela 
comitissa Sarum, assumpsit habitum religionis. 

A. mccxl. Eodem anno Ela comitissa Sarum eligitur in 
Abbatissam. 

A. mcclvii, nonas Aprilis, deposuit se Ela Abbatissa de 
Lacok. 

A. mcclxi, decimo-quarto kal. Maii, obiit domina Ela comi- 
tissa Sarum, fundatrix coenobiorum de Lacok et Hentona. 

In the four latter entries these years agree 
with the narrative of the Book of Lacock ; though 
in the two last the months are different. The two 
first entries are clearly some years too early : it 
may be conjectured that the date mccxxii is a mis- 
transcript for mccxxxi, and mccxxiii for mccxxxii ; 
in which case the first veiling of the nuns, ascribed 
to the former year, 1231, will coincide with the 
mention made in the Book of Lacock, of Alicia de 
Garinges, the first Canoness (more fully noticed 
hereafter); and the latter, 1232, will correspond 
with four other authorities, including the Book 
of Lacock * ; which relates that it was on the 16th 
of April 1232 that the Countess Ela founded the 

* The remaining three are ; 1. the Chronicle of Matthew 
of Westminster ; 2. that of Robert of Gloucester (edit. Hearne, 
p. 520) ; and 3. a chronicle of Malmesbury in Leland's Col- 
lectanea, vol. i. p. 379, in which place all the figures, (except 
those standing for the Roman m) ought to be 2, as 1220 for 
1110, 1228 for 1118, and 1232 (the date in question) for 1 131. 



182 THE FOUNDATION CHARTER. 

Nunnery of Lacock in the morning, and the Char- 
ter-house of Hinton in the afternoon. 

We have seen, however, in the last Chapter, 
from the testimony of the Book of Lacoek itself, 
that this pious design had long occupied the Coun- 
tess's thoughts. It had been the subject of her 
dreams at night, and her visions in the day ; and it 
will now be found that she had taken some of the 
necessary legal steps, at least as early as the year 
1229. 

We proceed to trace these preliminary arrange- 
ments for the establishment of Lacock Nunnery. 

The first and most important is, of course, the 
Countess's own Foundation Charter; but this it 
was deemed necessary to fortify by others in con- 
firmation, obtained from her Son, from the Rector 
of Lacock, from the Bishop of the Diocese, and 
from the King. 

By her Foundation Charter,^ the Countess Ela 
gave to God and Saint Mary, her whole manor of 
Lacock, with all its appurtenances, rights, and free 
customs, to found an Abbey thereon, which she 
willed to be named the Locus Beatce Marias, or 
Place of St. Mary. This name, it will be remarked, 
was in correspondence with her husband's founda- 
tion of Carthusians, which he had called Locus Dei. 
The remainder of the charter simply states that the 
manor was to be held by the Abbess and Nuns in 
free and perpetual alms, and therefore released from 

* See the Appendix, p. viii. 



THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 183 

every secular exaction, due either to the King or to 
her heirs. This charter was solemnly witnessed by 
the Justiciary of the Kingdom, Hubert de Burgh ;* 
by William Mareschal, Earl of Pembroke ; by Wil- 
liam de Warren, Earl of Surrey ; by Peter fitz Hu- 
bert, Hugh de Neville, Ralph son of Nicholas the 
King's steward, John the Dane, Henry de Albeney, 
and many others. 

The charter of her son William Longespeye/}- was 
doubtless executed at the same time, as the wit- 
nesses are precisely the same. It merely recites his 
mother's charter, states that he ratines it, and con- 
firms it by the impression of his seal. 

We have next to notice the Covenant made by 
the Countess with the Rector of Lacock. J This is 
dated; namely, on the 3d of April 1229. It shows 
that the Countess of Salisbury required the assent 
of John the Rector to build an Abbey of Nuns 
within his parish. In order to the peaceful com- 
mencement and progress of this undertaking, the 
Countess Ela, on her part, binds herself and heirs 
to preserve for ever every privilege of the Church 
of Lacock, both in great and small tithes, in mor- 
tuaries, offerings, and bequests, and in all other 

* Whatever conclusions we might wish to have drawn from 
Hubert's name being attached to the foundation charter, with 
reference to his conduct towards the Countess Ela, there can 
be no doubt his name occurs merely as the first officer of the 
Kingdom. 

f Appendix, p. x. }' Ibid. p. xi. 



184 THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 

profits accruing to the Church in its pastoral right, 
notwithstanding any general or special privilege, 
either then or thereafter to he obtained ; yet so that 
it might be freely allowable for the household of the 
Abbess, whether in life or in death, to receive the 
church sacraments elsewhere, and to make offerings 
and bequests wherever they desired. It was fur- 
ther agreed that the Chaplains, who should cele- 
brate the divine services in the Abbey, should swear 
fidelity to the Rector of the Church to preserve its 
privileges, as aforesaid ; and when an Abbess should 
be appointed, she and her convent should by charter 
provide for the same indemnity ; and the same 
should be renewed by each successive Abbess. More- 
over, if it should happen to be necessary to apply to 
any matters there indiscreetly committed the " twig 
of correction ! " (limam correctionis) for that pur- 
pose the Countess subjects the House to the juris- 
diction of the Bishop and Chapter of Salisburyj 
and commits to them the charge of correcting such 
excesses, without appeal. For the preservation of 
this Covenant, it was written as a bipartate ciro- 
graph,* and the sides, when mutually sealed, were 
divided and delivered to the respective parties ; at 

* This mode of bipartite covenants, written at first on one 
piece of parchment, and then casually divided through the 
word CYROGRAPHUM (like a modern banker's check) was 
the most effectual preservation against forgery. The inden- 
ture of the present day has derived its name, and little else, 
from this useful practice. 



THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 185 

Salisbury, in the presence of Robert the Bishop, 
Walter the Dean, Roger the Precentor, Robert the 
Chancellor, and Edmund the Treasurer. 

On the 20th of the same month the Bishop him- 
self,^ having first inspected the charter of the Coun- 
tess Ela and the cyrograph of the Rector of La- 
cock, ~j~ urged also by the devout requests (pulsati 
devotis supplicationibus) of William Longespeye, 
the son and heir of the Countess, and having re- 
ceived the readiest goodwill and unanimous assent 
of his beloved sons and brothers in Christ, the Dean 
and Chapter of Sarum ; granted his permission that 
the Countess of Ela should found and construc- 
her Monastery, and place therein Nuns of the 
order of Saint Augustine ; appointing that they 
should ever exercise and follow that Rule, and be 
canonically subject to the Church of Salisbury. This 
charter was dated at the Bishop's manor-house of 
of Ramsbury, where the Dean, Precentor, Chan- 
cellor, and Treasurer of Sarum were present as wit- 

* Since the death and funeral of Earl William, Bishop Poore 
had been translated to Durham, and succeeded in 1228 by 
Robert Bingham. It is somewhat singular that these suc- 
cessive Bishops of Salisbury were both natives of the county 
of Dorset, and that the ancient and distinguished families of 
both are still remaining in that county. 

f In the cartulary the King's confirmation is transcribed 
into this charter, as well as that of Ela ; and in the Monasti- 
con the Bishop's charter is accordingly beaded " cartas Elae 
Comitissae, et Regis Henrici Tertii, confirmat ; " but this is 
clearly an error, the King's confirmation not being yet ob- 
tained. 



186 THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 

nesses, together with William Archdeacon of Berk* 
shire, H. Teysson, R. de Croshal, Thomas de Ebe- 
lesborn, W. de Len, Gilbert de Stapelbrig, P. Picot, 
one of the chanters of Sarum, Thomas of Warwick 
and John of Birmingham, the Bishop's clerks, 
Walter and Richard his chaplains, and many others.* 
Finally, on the 21st of January, a royal confirma- 
tion •jf of Ela's foundation charter was obtained from 
the hands of the Chancellor at Westminster, which 
was witnessed by the Justiciary Hubert de Burgh, 
Earl of Kent, Philip de Albiney, Ralph Fitz- 
Nicholas, John Fitz Philip, Richard Fitz Hugh, 
Ralph de Raleghe, Henry de Capella, and others 
then attendant on King Henry. 

Such is the first chain of legal documents illus- 
trating the foundation of Lacock Abbey. The 
pious work was now carried forward with vigour ; 
and the munificent Foundress had already^ provided, 
to a considerable extent, the means necessary for 
its permanent establishment and future support. 
This essential arrangement was ratified by another 
solemn charter ; by which, " in her widowhood and 
liege power," the Countess Ela granted and con- 

* Appendix, p. xiii. f Ibid. p. xi. 

+ It is evident, indeed, that the charter now about to be 
noticed is rather the earlier of the two ; because, whilst the 
other has the same set of witnesses as her Son's confirmations of 
both, this has a different set. As the other, however, received 
the Royal Confirmation, it obtained the more prominent place 
in the Cartulary, the example of which we have followed. 



ela's second charter. 187 

firmed, to God and Saint Mary, and Saint Ber- 
nard, and to the Nuns serving God at Lacock, 

1. the manor of Lacock, with the advowson of 
the church of that manor, and all its appurtenances ; 

2. the manor of Hatherop (in Gloucestershire, 
which had previously belonged to the Carthusians 
of her husband's foundation) ; 

3. the manor of Bissopestre (Bishopstrow, Wilts) ; 

4. the moiety of the manor of Hedington 
(Edingdon in Wiltshire) ; 

which two last belonged to her by a final agreement 
respecting the Honour of Trowbridge, made in the 
King's Court between Humphrey de Bohun and 
herself ; 

and 5. the advowson of the church of Winter- 
borne Syreveton (now Shrewton, also in Wilts). 

All these were to be held by the Nuns of Lacock 
in free alms, released from every secular service, 
due either to the King and his bailiffs, or to herself 
and her heirs. This charter was witnessed by Sir 
Walter de Godarvile, Thomas de Ebelesbourn, Ni- 
cholas Malemains, Adam the Rector of Gatesden,^ 
Richard Longespeye (one of the Countess's sons), 
John de Moul, master Roger de Stokes, Dan Roger 

* Doubtless Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, of which the 
Countess and Nicholas Malmaines just mentioned were the 
joint heirs, as before noticed in p. 98. The only Rector of 
Gaddesden mentioned by Mr. Clutterbuck is Nicholas de 
Longespe, the Countess's son, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury. 
The rectory was appropriated at an early period to Dartford 
nunnery, Kent. 



188 CHARTERS OF WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

de Baskervile, Peter de Salceto,* Dan Peter the 
parson of Trowbridge, Philip de Depeford clerk, 
Thomas Makerel clerk, Robert de Holte clerk, and 
others. 

This charter was confirmed by her son, with the 
same witnesses as his confirmation of Ela's other 
charter ; which circumstance shows that his ratifi- 
cation was given to both at the same time. 

There are also in the Cartulary no less than nine 
other copies of confirmatory charters of William 
Longesp6 : 

By the Third he promises that he will demand 
nothing contrary to the indenture between his mother 
and himself, notwithstanding a charter which the 
Countess had made him, concerning the concession 
of her manors, (fo. 7 a.) 

4. Another confirmation of all his mother's 
grants, (fo. 8 a.) 

5. A confirmation of the manors of Lacock and 
Hatherop, and injunction to his knights and free 
tenants to perform all their services to the Nuns, 
(fo. 9 a.) 

6. 7, 8. Three charters by which he conferred, 
(that is confirmed) to the Nuns the manor of 
Bishopstrow, the estate of Hatherop, and advowson 

* Qu ? Calceio, the Causeway, — some ancient work, pre- 
vious to that of the beneficent Maud Heath ? A causeway 
near the town of Arundel in Sussex gave name to a Priory, 
called de Calceto. There was, however, a forest in Northamp- 
tonshire, named Salcey, and a person occurs, taking his name 
from it, Robert ofe Salceto. See Baker's Northamptonshire, i. 178. 



CEREMONY OF CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 189 

of the parish church of Lacock. This grant was 
made in 20 Hen. III. (1236). (fo. 66 a.J 

9. A concession that his mother should confer on 
the house of Lacock a moiety of the manor of 
Hedyngton, she having released to him an exchange 
of land of the Prior and canons of Bradenstoke. 
(fo. 76 a.) 

There were also at least two benefactions of Wil- 
liam Longespe to the Abbey, which appear to have 
originated with himself. These were : 

1. all his land at Chittern (fo. 43 a.), confirmed 
by Henry III. in 1242 ; and 2. all the land which 
had belonged to Nicholas de Hamptun, in Upham 
(fo. 86 a ) 

William Longespe the Third was also called 
upon to confirm the possessions of the Abbey ; 
which he did, reciting his grandmother's charter 
word for word. (fo. 3 b.) 

The vigilance with which the monastic societies 
were accustomed to solicit these confirmatory deeds, 
from the hands of the heirs of their original bene- 
factors, is demonstrated by the charters throughout 
the Monasticon ; and its necessity is shown by 
several cases in their earlier history, in which a 
fierce and graceless youth seized again upon his 
ancestral estates, or refused to deliver that which 
his father had bestowed under the influence of a 
deathbed remorse. An interesting account of the 
ceremony which attended the confirmation of gifts 
to monasteries, is contained in a Register of the 



190 CONSTANCE DE LEGH. 

Abbey of Shrewsbury. One Herbert fitz-Helgot, 
being unwilling that any trouble should arise re- 
specting the benefactions of his father and himself 
to that church, determined that, although the King 
had confirmed them by a charter, yet his sons also 
should confirm them by a grant of their own. He 
therefore sent them, Eutropius his son and heir, 
and his brothers Nicholas and Herbert, with their 
pious mother, to the church ; where, when they 
had heard the prayers, and regranted in the Chap- 
ter-house the benefactions of their father and grand- 
father, they took in their head a text of the Gospel, 
and offered their charters upon the altar of St. 
Peter, before many witnesses.^ 

Among the benefactors enumerated in theLacock 
Cartulary it is not easy to select those who were 
the original coadjutors of the Countess in her 
pious undertaking; for, as Stevens has remarked, 
the charters are not arranged in order of time, and 
for the greater part dates are deficient. It will 
therefore be most desirable to pursue our account 
of the contents of the Cartulary, hereafter, in the 
order of the several estates of which the Abbey 
became possessed. 

There is, however, certainly one name which 
may be pointed out as having been amongst the 
earliest co-operators with the pious Ela. This is 
that of Constance de Legh, or Leach, of Eastleach 
in Gloucestershire. 

* Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vol. i. p. 26. 



ALICIA GARINGES. 191 

Constance de Legh gave to God and St. Mary 
her whole manor of Woodmancote, in order to 
found in the town of Lacock an Abbey, which (in 
correspondence with the design of the Countess 
Ela) she desired to be called the Locus Beat^e 
MARiiE. (fo. 107 b.) 

The first Canoness veiled at Lacock was Alicia 
Garinges.* There was a small nunnery at a place 
so named in Oxfordshire, which was also governed 
under the Augustine rule ; it is therefore highly 
probable that Alicia was transplanted thence, in 
order to assist in the establishment of Ela's new 
society. In the portions we possess of the Book of 
Lacock, no other person is mentioned, either as 
Abbess or Canoness, during the eight years which 
elapsed after the foundation, before the religious 
government of the house was assumed by Ela her- 
self. There was an Alicia who became the Abbess, 
some thirty years after, but that person can scarcely 
have been the same with Alicia Garinges. 

It will be proper to close this chapter with a 
brief account of that Rule of St. Augustine, which, 
as we have seen in the charter of the Bishop of 

* " Alicia Garinges apud Lacok prima Canonissa velata." 
(Book of Lacock.) The words which precede, " A. vero aetatis 
suae xlv." were connected with this sentence in the Monasti- 
con ; but, as printed in the Appendix to the present volume, 
it will be perceived they belong to the Countess Ela, who was 
of that age at the period of the foundation. 



192 THE RULE OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 

Salisbury, it was covenanted that the Nuns of La- 
cock should perpetually observe. 

The Rule of St. Augustine was applied, with a few 
necessary modifications, to monasteries of both 
sexes. 

They were to live in a convent, not calling any- 
thing their personal property, but holding all things 
in common. 

Food and raiment were to be distributed to them 
by their superior ; not equally to all, but according 
to the necessity of each, as is written in the Acts 
of the Apostles, " For they had all things common, 
and it was distributed to them as each had need." 

They were to be constant in prayer at the ap- 
pointed hours ; not singing except what was directed 
to be sung. 

They were to overcome their flesh with fasting 
and abstinence, when their strength permitted ; and 
when at table, they were to listen attentively to the 
lecture, ." that so not only their mouth might re- 
ceive their food, but their ears also might feed on 
the word of God." * 

They were to be victualled from one cellar, and 
clothed from one vestiary ; nor to murmur if the 
vestment they received at any time were worse than 
that they had worn before. 

* The practice is kept up in most colleges in Oxford to this 
day. 



THE RULE OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 193 

No one was to perform any work for her private 
advantage, but all for the common good. 

Nothing given them by their parents or relations 
was to be received secretly, but to be in the power 
of the superior ; that, being placed in the common 
stock, it might be dealt out to the members who 
required it. If any one concealed any thing brought 
to her, the crime was to be condemned equally with 
theft. 

Their clothes were to be washed at the pleasure 
of their superior, either by themselves, or by fullers. 
Bathing was to be allowed, if deemed necessary for 
health ; but none were to go to the baths, or any 
where else, except two or three in company. And 
any one requiring to go anywhere, was to go with 
those the superior directed. In walking they were 
to move forward together, and to stop at the same 
time. 

The care of the sick was to be confided to some 
one person, who should direct the cellarer to provide 
what was necessary for them. 

All who should be appointed to the duties of the 
cellar, the vestments, or of the books, should serve 
their Sisters without murmuring. 

Books were to be asked for at a certain hour 
daily, at which only they were to be obtained ; but 
the keepers of the clothes and shoes were not to 
delay to deliver them, when necessary, to those that 
required them. 

Such, with some other precepts of a more strictly 

o 



194 COSTUME OF THE NUNS. 

moral and religious nature, directing avoidance of 
anger, forgiveness of injuries, abstinence from se- 
vere words, and obedience to the superior, are the 
principal injunctions of the Rule of St. Augustine ; 
which, in order that no part of it should be ne- 
glected through forgetfulness, was to be read to the 
brethren or sisters once in every week. Though as 
now preserved, and printed in the Monasticon An * 
glicanum, it is adapted to a monastery of men, it is 
supposed by Erasmus and by Bellarmin to have 
been originally written by the Saint for the instruc- 
tion of the women, who formed a monastic society 
under the government of his sister. 

In order to complete our view of the domestic 
life of the Nuns, we may here append a description 
of their costume, derived from a volume # which, 
although it was specially written for a reformed sect 
of the Augustins, named after St. Saviour and St. 
Bridget, yet in its principal features retains, no 
doubt, the spirit of that Order : 

" The clothes of the sisters may be two chemises 1 
of white flannel, 3 one for daily use, the other for 
washing. One gown 3 of grey cloth 4 with a cowl, 5 
and sleeves extending not further than to the end of 

* Additional MSS. (Brit. Mus.) 5208. 

1 Camisie. 

2 Or perhaps linen, as in the English MS. (Arundel, 146) 
this garment is called a stamen. The original word is here 
burello, a diminutive from burrus. 

3 Tunica. 4 Burello. 5 Cuculla. 



COSTUME OF THE NUNS. 195 

the middle finger, the folds of which around th e 
hand, when they perform their manual services, 
shall be bound to the arms with a buckle like other 
sleeves. One mantle also of grey cloth, like the 
tunic and hood ; which shall not be plaited in front, 
nor finely made, but tight and plain, being wholly 
made for use and not at all for vanity : which also 
ought in summer to be single, but in winter lined, 
not with delicate skins, but with those of lambs or 
sheep. Of skins of this kind a pilch 6 may also be 
made for the winter. The said mantle moreover 
shall not reach the earth by a palm's breadth, and 
shall be fastened by a wooden buckle at the breast. 
For the cloathing of their feet they shall have, in 
summer, shoes 7 reaching to their ancles, and stock- 
ings 8 to their knees ; but in winter, boots to their 
knees, lined with cloth, and stockings equally high. 
The head-dress shall be a fillet , by which the fore- 
head and chin shall be surrounded and the face be 
partly opened; the ends of which shall be joined 
by one pin at the back of the head. Over this 
shall be placed a veil of black linen, which, lest it 
should be loose, shall be fixed with three pins, one 
on the forehead, and two at the ears. Then over 
the veil shall be placed a round cap 9 of white 

6 A tippet of skins— pellicium, whence also the modern 
pellise. The word pilch occurs in Chaucer. From the super- 
pellicium is derived the modern surplice. 

7 Sotnlares. s Pedulos. 

9 Corona. The five red drops were allusive to the five 
wounds of Christ. This portion of the costume was doubtless 

o 2 



196 OBSERVANCES OF THE NUNS. 

linen, to which shall be sown five pieces of red 
cloth like five drops ; the first piece shall be 
on the forehead, the second on the back of the 
head, the third and fourth around the ears, the 
fifth on the middle of the head. This cap shall be 
fastened by one pin in the middle of the head ; 
and shall fit the head ; and it shall be worn both 
by widows and virgins in token of continence and 
chastity." 

Their usual beds were to be of straw, over which 
they might have two blankets. 10 of cloth or linen, 
and mattresses. 11 Under their heads they were to 
have a cushion covered with a web, 12 and a pillow 13 
covered in the same manner. 

An important feature of the Rule of St. Saviour, 
is the strict injunction of silence, during the greater 
part of the day; speaking being allowed only at 
certain intervals, except on some necessary occa- 
sions. 

Conversation with secular persons was permitted 
only in company, and with the licence of the abbess, 
from noon to vespers, and this only on Sundays and 
the great feasts of the Saints. Nor was a sister to 
go out of the house for this purpose, but to sit at 
the appointed windows ; for to none was it per- 
mitted after their entrance to leave the cloisters of 
the monastery. If any desired to be seen by her 

peculiar to the Brigetines, and should therefore be omitted in 
in our view of the nuns of Lacock. 

10 Thoralia. " Culckris. l2 Tela. ,3 Cervical 



OBSERVANCES OF THE NUNS. 197 

parents or honest and dear friends, she might, with 
the permission of the abbess, open the window, that 
is occasionally during the year ; but if she did not 
open it, a more abundant reward was promised to 
her hereafter ! 

Another chapter of the same volume describes 
the Divine Hours to be observed by the sisters. 
They were daily, in worship of the Virgin, solemnly 
to sing her Hours, together with three lessons, as 
well on feasts as private days. Every day also, 
when notice was given for vespers, the Sisters were 
to assemble together, and first the right hand choir 
were to read one Ave Maria, and deeply inclining 
themselves to the other choir were to say, c Pardon 
us for the sake of God and his most pious mother 
Mary, if we have offended you in word or deed^ in 
sign or nod ; for we, if there be any fault in you 
against us, do remit it most freely.' Then, the 
other choir inclining in like manner, and reading, 
and asking pardon, so shall they proceed to vespers. 
And at the end of all the Hours, they shall sing the 
antiphon Ave Maria, with the collect in this form, 
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui pro nobis de 
castissima Virgine nasti dignatus es, fac nos, 
quesimus, tibi casto corpore servire, et humili 
mente placere. Oramus et te, piissima Virgo 
Maria, mundi Regina et angelorum, ut eis quospur- 
gatorius examinat ignis, impetres refrigerium, 
peccatoribus indulgentiam, justis in bono perseve- 
rantiam, nos quoque fragiles ab instantibus defende 



198 THE CANONICAL HOURS, 

periculis, per eundem Christum, 8$c. On all days, 
both feasts and private, the mass of the blessed 
Virgin was also to be sung by the sisters. And on 
every Sunday, after the mass of the blessed Virgin* 
the sisters were to sing, Salve, Regina ! 

Much as appears in this account at complete va- 
riance with the plain and open Word of God, who 
can read it without interest ? The plain and scrip- 
tural Christian will remember Bishop Lavington's 
" Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists compared." 



THE CANONICAL HOURS. 



The Church of Rome divided the twenty-four hours into 
seven parts, to each of which certain services were assigned* 
They were termed the Canonical Hours : and the time follow 
ing each service, until the commencement of the next, often 
went under the same name. The following was their order s 

Hora Matutina, Matins or Lauds, 3 a.m. 

Hora Prima, Prime, 6 A. m. 

Hora Tertia, Tierce, 9 A. m.* 

Hora Sexta, Sext, 12 at midday. 

Hora Nona, Nones, 3 p.m. 

Hora Vespera, Vespers, ahout 4 i». m. 

Completorium, Compline, about 7 p. m. 

The night was also divided into four watches; the first be- 
ginning at 6 p. m. and each lasting three hours. 

* This time of the day was also called Undern. 



199 



CHAPTER IX. 

Contrast of the View at Old Sarum and the Forest of Chippen- 
ham — Ela retires to the society of the Nuns at Lacock — 
Saint Edmund (of Abingdon) Archbishop of Canterbury — 
The reception of Novices, and Profession of a Nun. 

When Ela, yielding to the stronger impressions of 
her religious feelings, had resolved to retire from all 
connection with the cares of life, and the duties of 
her high station, she at length left the stately castle 
on the elevated ramparts of Sarisbyrig, and repaired 
to the religious seclusion in the Forest of Chippen- 
ham, as described in the first chapter, in which she 
had placed her foundation of Augustine Nuns. 

There is something in the drear and treeless eleva- 
tion of such a spot as that on which the Castle of 
Old Sarum was raised, so remote from the feelings 
of pensive and private sorrow, that the scene itself 
of a dark forest, would seem to be more conducive 
to piety, and humble acquiescence in the dispensa- 
tions of Providence, than a Fortress, on a solitary 
hill, in the glare of day, commanding a wild extent 
of downs ; where no stream was heard to murmur 
such as might seem almost a companion in solitude 
and sorrow ; where no woods were heard to wave ; 
no early woodland bird, 

" Twittering from its straw-built shed," 



200 DEVOTIONAL RETIREMENT. 

might call up the remembrance, and shadows, of 
youthful happiness ; or which, 

" Filling with farewell sweet the parting plain," 

might bring back, like music, " a joy, and peace, 
in believing," and in tears. 

But all these were found in that place which Ela 
had fixed upon as the sacred home of her seclusion 
from the world, sadly, but not uninterestingly, con- 
trasted with the City and stately Fortress she had left. 

And here, without any admixture of superstitious 
feelings, who can be insensible to the consolation 
which, with all its errors, the religious belief of the 
period, as we before remarked, was calculated to 
inspire ? 

The souls of those separated by Death might 
seem to be again united, in the reveries of ardent 
piety, to those left to mourn their loss, for a season, 
upon earth ; the voices of the dead might be ima- 
gined, not seldom, to mingle in the dying cadences 
of the vesper hymn, whispering peace and com- 
fort to the desolate, in tones not of this world; and 
whilst, as such strains were heard, and the incense 
ascended, at the stated hours, from the altar, these 
feelings of abstracted devotion and affection would, 
day by day, gather greater strength, till the distance 
between earth and heaven might seem as almost 
lost ; as if soul met soul, in a purer sphere, without 
the intervention of earthly corruption or the fears 
of earthly change ! 



ELA ASSUMES THE HABIT OF RELIGION. 201 

How often might ideas like these, so beautifully 
expressed by the Poet of Paraclete, have super- 
seded all feelings of terrestrial deprivation ! 

How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot, 

The world forgetting, by the world forgot ! 

Labour and rest, that equal periods keep, 

Obedient slumbers that can wake or sleep, 

Desires composed, affections ever even, 

Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heaven S 

To return — the brief particulars recorded of Ela's 
assumption of the habit of religion are only these : 
that it took place on Christmas day in the year of 
our Lord 1238, in the seventh year after the founda- 
tion of the house of Lacock, and in the 51st year of 
her age ; she " having in all her actions and designs," 
says the Book of Lacock, "been constantly dependent 
on the counsel and aid of St. Edmund, the Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, and other discreet men." 

A few words may here be said respecting this 
Archbishop Edmund, Ela's especial spiritual coun- 
sellor. He was the same Edmund of Abingdon, 
who, when Treasurer of Salisbury, had been 
united with Dean William de Wanda as one of the 
supervisors of the Earl her husband's will;^ and who 
had witnessed, after the Earl's death, the charter 
by which the Countess Ela removed his Carthu- 
sians to Hinton;^ and her covenant with the 

* See before, p. 147. t See the Appendix, p. vii. 



202 EDMUND OF ABINGDON. 

Rector of Lacock.* His paternal name was Rich ; 
but, like other ecclesiastics, he had relinquished it 
for that of his native place, the town of Abingdon 
in Berkshire. He first distinguished himself as a 
Professor at the university of Oxford, where he 
introduced the ethics of Aristotle. His schools 
were numerously frequented, and he mainly contri- 
buted to the restoration of the prosperity of that 
University, which had previously been deserted, in 
consequence of one of the tyrannical acts of King 
John. Among his pupils were many eminent men ; 
two of whom, like himself, were subsequently ele- 
vated to the glory of canonization, namely, Richard 
de la Wich, Bishop of Chichester, and Sewall de 
Bovill, Archbishop of York. To these may be 
added Robert Grosteste, Bishop of Lincoln, Richard 
Fishacre, an eminent Dominican, Robert Bacon, 
who became his biographer; and, above all, that 
deep philosopher, who so far surpassed the ordi- 
nary science of his day as to acquire a supernatural 
character, the learned Roger Bacon. At the same 
time, Edmund of Abingdon was so careless of 
money, that, if any was forced upon him by his 
scholars, he would lay it in his window, and cover 
it with dust, saying that " Earth with earth and 
dust with dust should be mingled together;" and 
" there leaving and taking no further care about it, 
his scholars and companions would take it away 
in jest, and some that were light-fingered secretly!" 

* Sec p. 185. 



ST. EDMUND THE ARCHBISHOP. 203 

The historian of Oxford, Anthony a Wood, assigns 
the period of Abingdon's lecturing at Oxford to 
between the years 1219 and 1226. The scene of 
his exertions was known by the name of St. Ed- 
mund's Schools for many centuries after. 

In 1234 Edmund of Abingdon was at once ele- 
vated from the treasurership of Salisbury to the 
archiepiscopal see of Canterbury. He owed this 
preferment to the particular nomination of the Pope 
(Gregory IX.) ; for the convent of Canterbury had 
previously elected another candidate. The King 
was present at his consecration in Canterbury Ca- 
thedral ; and two years after he solemnized in the 
same church the marriage of King Henry with 
Alianor of Provence. 

The Archbishop still continued a severe and rigid 
devotee, and was so zealously attached to the 
rigours of monachism, that he is said to have 
fallen into a consumption through too great ab- 
stinence. In consequence of the high character 
for devotion and austere piety which he had thus 
acquired, he was canonized in the 7th year after 
his death (which occurred in 1240, while he was 
dwelling in exile at Soissy in Pontiniac,) and his 
name was placed as a Saint in the calendar of the 
Church of Rome.* 

Such was the zealous and ascetic counsellor 
under whose advice the Countess Ela retired into a 

* The King's son Edmund, afterwards Earl of Lancaster, 
christened in 1245, received his name in memory of Edmund 
the Archbishop. 



204 RECEPTION OF NOVICES. 

cloister. Of the ceremonial observed at Lacock, on 
that memorable feast of our Lord's Nativity, we 
have no specific account ; but, as generally illus- 
trative of the subject of this volume, we may here 
append some account of the ordinary proceedings 
attendant on the Profession of Nuns, extracted from 
a curious manuscript volume now in the British 
Museum, # written in English, and describing that 
modification of the Augustine discipline which was 
called the Rule of St. Saviour, and was adopted by 
the Nuns of Sion in Middlesex : — 

" If any ask this religion in the way of charity, 
the Abbess, standing or sitting in a chair at the 
crates,*^ with the whole convent in their whole habit 
standing about her, each in their order religiously, 
the window open, shall bid her tell her desire, before 
all the Convent. Which heard, if the number be 
full, she shall say, ' We may receive none over the 
number limited in our Rule.' If it be void, she 
shall say, c None may be professed in this religion, 
before an whole year of sufficient probation with- 
out ; nor, after their profession, go to another re- 
ligion. 1 J 

" If she then still desire to be admitted to the 
year of proof, the Abbess first shall examine her, 
how long she hath stood in her purpose towards 

* MS. Arundel, 146. + Grated window. 

X Thus, in the Church of Rome, a still stronger term was 
in use for different monastic societies, than, in these days 
of modern toleration, is even applied to the sects into which the 
Christian church is now divided. 



RECEPTION OF NOVICES. 205 

this religion, and whether she be moved thereto of 
herself or of any other person ; secondly, if she be 
free of all worldly bonds, that is to say, of debt, 
borrowage, service, bondage, sentence of cursing, 
wedlock, contract, vowess, # infamy, executry, heresy, 
and such other ; also if she desire this religion prin- 
cipally for God, or for any privy sickness or impo- 
tency ; or else if shame, or pain of worldly adver- 
sity or any such thing, compelleth her thereto. 
And, after this, for the third thing, she shall tell 
her of the duress of the religion ; that is to say, 
contempt of the w mid, forgetting of father and 
mother, and of all worldly friendship, except as the 
Rule suffereth and the Church determineth : much 
fasting, many water days, great watch, early rising, 
long service, daily labour, strait silence, lowest 
place, hard commandments of the Sovereign,-}- ready 

* That is, an engagement to any other monastic profession, 
f The " Sovereign'" was the Sister into whose charge the 
instruction of novices and junior nuns was specially entrusted. 
Another nearly equivalent title is fully explained in the fol- 
lowing passage : — " By this name, President, is understood 
any person that among the Convent gathered together in any 
conventual act, hath there the rule of the religion, at least for 
that season ; for they that be so gathered, be never without a 
president. The Sovereign is president in every place 5 and, 
she absent, the Prioress is president; she absent, the eldest 
Search ; all these three absent, the second Search ; and so de- 
scending by all the Searches. Which all absent, the eldest 
Sister of them there present is President." Beginning of 
Chapter VIII. « On the President." MS. Arundel 146. 



206 RECEPTION OF NOVICES. 

obedience, forsaking of proper will, patience in ad- 
versity, sufferance of all sharp corrections, and many 
such other ; which may be lightly suffered for a 
while, but to continue for term of life, it is hard 
work to some ! To the which things if she be not 
agreable, the Abbess shall honestly avoid her. 

" If the Abbess think her disposed to this reli- 
gion, she shall hear her ability in voice, singing and 
reading. Which known, she shall bid her abide 
upon an answer unto another convenient time, till 
she may have had communication with her Sisters, 
from whom in this case she may hide nothing for 
favour or dread, or for threatening of any person, 
of what power or dignity that ever he be. 

" After this, the convent sitting in the Chapter 
House, the Abbess shall ask of each Sister in order 
by name, beginning at the eldest, whether they will 
have her admitted to the year of proof or no ; and, 
if the sadder (graver) party answer "Nay," telling 
reasonable cause why, the Abbess, before all the 
convent, or a part of them, shall give her a goodly 
answer and let her go. 

If the more holy and sad party grant to have her 
admitted to the year of proof the Abbess shall use 
such words as these to the said person, ' Daughter, 
you have cause to yield praisings to God. I have 
communed with my Sisters, and I find them right 
glad of your holy purpose, and agreeable to your 
desire.' And then she shall say this, be there one 
or many of them, ' In the name of our Lord Jesus 



ADMITTANCE TO THE YEAR OF PROOF. 207 

Christ, and of his most holy mother, our lady 
Saint Mary, of Saint Bridget > Saint Austin, and of 
all Saints, and in the name of the whole congre- 
gation of Sisters and Brethren, and in my own name, 
/ admit you to the Year of Proof* after the tenour 
of the Rule of St. Saviour. Proceed therefore to 
essay yourself, how you may accord with some kind 
of observance of the said holy Rule, now this year ; 
and after three months come again unto us, and in 
the mean time we shall take further deliberation 
respecting you.' She, hearing this, shall give 
thankings to God, and to all the congregation, and 
after this go with a low head and forehead covered, 
living under the obedience of the Abbess. And it 
shall be told her, 1. that she keep the times ap- 
pointed for coming again ; 2. how she shall demean 
and prove herself in the said year, with some ob- 
servances according to the Rule ; 3. to speak with 
the General Confessor for health of her soul ; 4. 
the Abbess shall have to her words and command- 
ments sometimes of sharpness, to prove her pa- 
tience and obedience ; and also the Rule and 
Statutes are to be read to her, in those points only 
that concern her person, that she may know whereto 
she cometh. Furthermore, the Abbess in the mean- 
while may inquire, or cause to be inquired, more 
diligently of other persons that know her, of her 
life and conversation, desiring, if need be, letters of 

* Corresponding with the Oxford Year of Probation for all 
scholars; in particular, for the junior Fellows of New College. 



208 RENOUNCING THE YEAR OF PROOF. 

testimony thereupon, so that the day of her admit- 
ting, and month, with the year of our Lord, be put 
in writing by the Chantress. 

" When she cometh again the second time, the 
Abbess shall examine her, and say to her as is ex- 
pressed in the Rule ; and so she shall do when she 
cometh again the third time." 

If any one kept her year of proof in the outer 
court, and was not able to pay for her board, school, 
and other expences, she was to be found by the 
Monastery. 

The ceremony of entering fully into the society, 
when the term of probation had expired, was called 
the Renouncing the Year of Proof The attendance 
of a Bishop was necessary for its performance ; and 
when " surety was had of his coming," the Abbess 
and Convent proceeded to the crates, where they 
that were professed knelt at a window. The Abbess 
then said, whether there were many or bat one, 
' What ask you ? ' The answer was, ' I ask, in the 
way of charity, that I may be received to live with 
you in this holy Congregation all the days of my 
life.' Then the Abbess, if she thought proper, re- 
hearsed compendiously what had been told her from 
the beginning of her year of proof, concluding with 
telling her that she must acknowledge herself duly 
admitted to her year of proof, and that she was 
fully content therewith ; promising to abide the 
day appointed for her profession. This wa& done 
by the novice both by word and on a written scroll ; 
and the Abbess also, on her part, renounced the 



CEREMONY OF CLIPPING THE HEAD. 209 

same ; when either the next morning, or sometimes 
the same day, was appointed for the ceremony of 
Profession/* 

Before that solemnity, the Sextoness was to ar- 
range a beir, with fair new earth, making a cross 
thereon with a smooth lath, and setting it forth at 
the door. Each person was to be professed in her 
own arrayment that she had used in the world, and 
not in borrowed gear : and before any were pre- 
sented to the Bishop to be consecrated, their hair 
was to be clipped by the Abbess after the manner 
of other monials,-^ with this ceremony. The Abbess 
repaired, with some of the nuns, to the crates, the 
day before the Profession, after our Lady's Mass, 
or after compline,^ or any other time most conve- 
nient ; and the Sextoness brought holy water and 
a fair handkerchief, with a clean pair of shears or 
scissors. And the window being opened, and the 
hair of the novice being dressed honestly § behind 
her head, the Abbess sprinkled holy water upon 
her, saying, " Aqua henedicta sit tibi salus et vita ! 
In nomine Pair is et Filii et Spirit us Sanctis The 
convent answered Amen. And then, || whilst the 

* The earliest time was preferred, as being i( most syker," 
that is to say secure, for the interests of the monastery ; be- 
cause, " after the renouncing, the parties might ask their 
finding in the monastery lawfully as long as they lived, though 
they were never professed, which, by long process, might turn 
to insupportable charge to the monastery." 

f Nuns. + See p. 198. § Decorously. 

I| We are obliged indignantly to suppress what follows re- 
lative to •' burning love of the Almighty," to a human virgin ! " 



210 CEREMONY OF PROFESSION. 

Abbess clipped her head, the Convent said, " side 
for side," (that is, with chant and antiphon) the 
hymn Veni, Creator spiritus. After which fol- 
lowed certain prayers. 

On the day of Profession, all the Hours # were 
performed before High Mass. And when the Bishop 
was entered into the Brethren's quire, four Sisters 
assigned by the Abbess brought religiously between 
them the beir, a little lifted up from the earth, two 
before and two behind, and set it down fair and 
easily before the newly professed Sister ; and, incli- 
nation made toward the high altar, they turned again 
into the monastery, the door being shut after them. 
After mass it was brought in again by the same four. 

When the Bishop -f^ came to the door, he found 
the Novice there kneeling, and he first addressed 
her in these words : " Art thou free, and unfet- 
tered by any bond of the Church, or of wedlock ; 
of vow, or of excommunication ?" To whom she 
answered, " I am verily free ; " when the Bishop 
added, " Doth not shame, or perhaps grief of 
worldly adversity, urge thee to a religious profession, 
or perchance the multitude of thy debts compels 
thee." She answering, (from a scroll on her hand, 
on which it was written) " Neither grief nor shame 
incites me to this, but a fervent love of God ; and I 

* See p. 198. 

f The ensuing account of the ceremonies in the church is 
translated from the MS. Addit. 5208, being omitted in the 
Arundel MS. 146. 



CEREMONY OF PROFESSION. 211 

have already paid all my debts according to my 
power;" then the Bishop further added, " Seekest 
thou entrance into this religion in the name of 
Jesus Christ, and in honour of his most holy mother 
the Virgin Mary ? " She saying, '*■ I seek it," the 
Bishop brought her into the church, saying, " Lo, 
now she worthily enters this religion ! " And when 
she entered the church, a red banner was carried 
before her, on one side of which was painted the 
image of Christ crucified, and on the other the 
image of the Virgin Mary ; that the new Bride* 
contemplating the sign of her new Spouse suffering 
on the cross, might learn patience and poverty, and, 
looking upon the Virgin Mother, might learn 
chastity and humility. 

When she was thus brought into the churchy she 
was placed near the door, and the Bishop proceeded 
to consecrate her ring ; after which 5 approaching the 
Novice, he said, " You ought to promise God, and 
me on his behalf, that you will obey thy prelates, and 
live according to the Rule of St. Augustine, until 
the end of thy life." And then the Novice answered, 
" I, sister [El a], make myprofession, and promise 
obedience to Almighty God, and the Blessed ever- 
Virgin Mary, and to Saint Augustine and Saint 
[Bernard], and to thee the Bishop on their behalf, 
and to the Abbess, and to thy successors, to live 

* I trust I need make no comment on this odious represen- 
tation and imagery ! 

p2 



212 CEREMONY OF PROFESSION. 

without property, and in chastity, according to the 
Rule of St. Augustine, even unto my death." 

After some further prayers and responses, the 
Bishop placed the ring on her right hand, and 
then proceeded to chant the mass of the holy 
Trinity ; during which, after the novice had joined 
in the offertory, her clothes commanded by the 
Rule, (which had been prepared by the Convent,) 
were brought to the altar before the Bishop, who 
blessed them, saying a prayer. After which, she 
came before the Bishop, walking with bare feet, 
and, putting off her outer garments, stood in a single 
gown, ready to receive the consecrated habit, which 
was then put on, the Bishop saying : " Deus omnipo- 
tens det tibi veram penitenciam in tua conscientia, 
et perfectam contricionem in corde. In nomine 
Patris," &c. Then she put the conventual shoes on 
her feet ; which act, as well as those of putting on 
the hood, fitting the mantle, fastening it by the 
wooden buckle, and covering her head with the 
fillet, were each accompanied by a benedictory 
prayer from the Bishop. Lastly, on the imposition 
of the veil, he added his final benediction. 

We omit the prayers, as many of them seem as 

profane as disgusting; and we, omit all the minute 

ceremonies of the solemn espousal to the visionary 

bridegroom, far more delicately touched by a poet, 

not always over delicate, in the sweet lines : 

For her the Spouse prepares the bridal ring, 
For her white virgins hymeneuls sing. 



CEREMONY OF PROFESSION. 213 

Alas ! how many mingled feelings of respect, in 
terest, and abhorrence must press on the hearty from 
reading these accounts, strange indeed to those 
whose religion is the Bible. After the tedious and 
offensive ceremony relating to the bride and the 
ring, the ceremonial concludes, " And so, the 
Handmaid of God ! having knelt down, and re- 
ceived the Bishop's blessing, is taken within, and 

THE GATE IS CLOSED ! " 

Let us pray that " the gate may be closed" for 
ever on such impurities and impieties relative to 
the "Handmaids of God!" 

These details are here offered as curious illustra- 
tions of a system that has passed away, containing, 
amid many gross impurities and impieties, much 
which, till the assumption of Human Infalli- 
bility, the sincerest piety might approve, and much 
till the establishment of the accursed Inquisition, 
Charity might forgive. 



214 



CHAPTER X. 

Ela is constituted Abbess of Lacock — The ceremonies of the 
Election and Consecration of Abbesses. 

It was on the 1 5th of August, 1240, the feast of 
the Assumption of the Virgin, that Ela, having first 
fullfilled the strict rules of her order, assumed the 
government of the monastery she had founded. 
The Book of Lacock states that she was then con- 
stituted the first Abbess ; we must therefore pre- 
sume that the constitution of the society was not 
fully completed until that year, nor, probably, were 
the conventual buildings ; but that this important 
step was the crowning stone which perfected her 
pious work. 

As we have not the means of describing the ce- 
remonies which actually took place at the election 
and consecration of Ela into this religious autho- 
rity, we may here extract the customary solemni- 
ties, from the Rule which has already furnished 
some curious particulars. 

When it happened that the office of Abbess was 
void, the Prioress, with the counsel of eight of the 
oldest and most grave Sisters, and also of the 
Searches,* deputed a ' sad ' Sister, expert in tem- 

* The Searches, called in Latin Scutatrices, were the officers 
answering to the Exploratores or Circatores in the houses of 



ELECTION OF AN ABBESS. 215 

poral rule and government, to assist theTreasuresses 
in such things as were necessary to be done without. 
The Prioress and Searches continued their superin- 
tendence within. The keys of the common seals, 
and all other things usually kept by the Abbess, 
were entrusted to the Chantress # and another chosen 
Sister ; unless in case of resignation, when the old 
Abbess kept them until the new one was confirmed. 
On the day of Election, after the conclusion of 
divine service in the forenoon, the brethren imme- 
diately sung the mass of the Holy Ghost, instead of 
high mass, in solemn array as the occasion required. 
After which, the Chantress and another Sister began 
the hymn Veni Creator, which was sung to the 
end, by the respondent quires of the Sisters. Then 
the Prioress, in a low voice, said, with musical note, 
this versicle, Emitte spiritum tuum, (" Send down 
thy Spirit ") and these two collects, Deus qui corda 

monks, whose duty it was to go round the whole monastery at 
all times of the day, except during Chapter and Collation, to 
discover any abuses or faults, and report them in the Chapter 
on the following morning. It was their especial business to 
see that none were absent from the Hours, or spoke when they 
ought not, or were asleep during the lesson, in which case, the 
Circator placed a lantern before the sleeping monk, who, on his 
awaking, was to take the lantern, and, having begged pardon 
kneeling, walk with it round the choir. See further in Fos- 
broke's British Monachism, p. 171. 

* Answering to the Prascentor, or Chanter in our Cathedrals, 
who ought every day in the year to lead the Chant ; who re- 
ceives great emoluments, cannot sing holy music, and never 
shows his face in a stall ! 



216 ELECTION OF AN ABBESS. 

and Acetones nostras, with Per Jesus Christum 
deminum nostrum. Amen. 

After this, on the ringing of the Chapter Bell, 
they came to the crates of the election, in order to 
speak with the General Confessor, and two of his 
brethren confessors, who attended as witnesses only, 
and not to have any voice in the election. After 
the Pope's bull and other constitutions concerning 
elections had been read, some well-learned man in 
the law of Holy Church, attending without the 
crates with a notary, declared in English the three 
forms of election, that is to say, the way of the 
Holy Ghost, the way of Scrutiny, and the way of 
Compromise. The first was performed by the 
Prioress or other Sister, merely saying " What seem 
ye of Sister Ela? meseemeth that she is an able 
person to this office." And if all answered, " It 
pleaseth them," this way was well sped. 

Such was probably the unanimous manner in 
which the first Abbess of Lacock and her successor 
Beatrice were elected. But the ordinary way was 
by Scrutiny ; in which three Sisters were appointed 
to collect the voluntary votes of the rest : which 
were delivered to the General Confessor, at the 
crates as before ; this, unless it was satisfactory, 
was to be repeated until the greater and more holy 
party of them had directed their voices upon a cer- 
tain person. When the election was decided, one 
of the three Searches pronounced it in the follow- 
ing words : 



ELECTION OF AN ABBESS. 217 

" In nomine Patris, et Fillip et Spiritus Sancti. 
I, N. N. a Sister professed in the Monastery of 
Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint Bernard, of the 
order of Saint Austin, one of the Searches taken 
and made in the act of this present election, in all 
that I have power as in this act, and in the same 
power of the other two Searches, and in their name, 
and in the name of all our Sisters of this said mo- 
nastery, have chosen in common, Sister of this 

monastery, expressly professed, being in sufficient 
and lawful age, born in matrimony, free, wise, and 
discreet, as our Abbess of this our said monastery." 

When the election was thus finished, the Chan- 
tress solemnly began the Psalm Te Deum laudamus, 
which the Sisters performed with song, quire to 
quire, to its end. 

The Abbess elect was then conducted by the 
elder Sisters to their quire, where she lied prostrate 
before the altar, until the end of the orison which 
then followed. The Sisters, kneeling in their stalls, 
said without musical note, Kyrieleison, Christ e 
eleison, Kyrieleison, the Pater Noster, and Ave 
Maria, After which the Prioress said, in a soft 
voice, with note, — Et ne nos, 8$e. Confirma hoc, 
Deus, quod operatus es in nobis. A templo tuo in 
Jerusalem tibi ojferent reges munera. Domine, 
exaudi. Oremus. 

" Omnipotens sempiterne Deus ? miserere huic 
famulse tuse, et dirige earn secundum clementiam 
tuam, in viam salutis eternal, ut, te donante, tibi 



218 CONSECRATION OF AN ABBESS. 

placita cupiat, et tota virtute perficiat. Per Chris- 
tum dominum nostrum. Amen." 

At the same time, the Confessor, with his bre- 
thren, repeated the same in their quire, all the 
bells ringing ; and then the Confessor published 
the election to all the people there present. 

After this, the Abbess elect rose, and went with 
the convent to the crates of her election, where her 
consent was required. She was allowed no long 
time for consideration, but might ask respite till 
after meat. When it was given, the election was in 
goodly haste to be notified to the diocesan Bishop, 
or his Vicar-general, in open writing (letters patent), 
sealed with the common seal, his ratification of 
which was termed the confirmation of the Abbess. 

The Bishop's attendance was then necessary, to 
solemnize the Consecration of the new Abbess. * 
On the day appointed, all the " Hours" of the Sisters 
and Brethren were to be concluded before high 
mass : and when the bells were rung to that mass, 
the Bishop coming in his pontifical array to the 
grate of her election, there delivered his letters 
patent of confirmation ; or, if that had been done 
already, went strait into the Monastery, being con- 
ducted by the General Confessor to the door and 
no further, and having with him three sad clerks, 
honest men, to assist him ; of whom, one read the 
epistle, another the gospel, and the third, being in a 

* A similar ceremony is enjoined in the " Pontifical," a 
.splendid volume, in Salisbury Cathedral. 



CONSECRATION OF AN ABBESS. 219 

cope, attended upon the mitre. It was also neces- 
sary that one of them should be a notary. 

After the door was opened, the Prioress and an- 
other Sister led the Bishop and his clerks into the 
Sisters' quire, the brethren then beginning, and pro- 
ceeding solemnly with the mass of the Annuncia- 
tion of our Lady. The Sisters were to be in their 
quire, not singing, but devoutly praying ; (that is, 
it would appear, those that could be trusted ! ) "as 
many as may after the discretion of the Prioress 
and saddest Sisters, nothing singing, but devoutly 
praying, behaving there honestly as the religion 
asketh ! " Two or three were to attend about the 
Abbess. 

The Abbess knelt in her prayers at a form deco- 
rously arranged with tapestry and cushions ; keep- 
ing such manner of observances in prostrations, 
kneelings, examinations, making of obedience, sub- 
scription or cross, with such other, as she was as- 
signed by the Bishop and his clerks. 

When the offertory was begun, she offered into 
the Bishop's hand ; and after the mass she received 
the sacrament, on which account she was previ- 
ously fasting. 

The Bishop then installed her, saying Accipe 
potestateniy &c. And on his beginning Te Deum 
laudamus, the brethren proceeded with the same, 
all the bells ringing ; during which, the Sisters pro- 
ceeded, two and two together, to kneel and kiss the 
Abbess, she sitting in her stall. 



220 CONSECRATION OF AN ABBESS. 

When this and the prayers which followed were 
concluded, the Bishop and his clerks, conducted by 
the Prioress and another Sister, led the Abbess in 
their Chapter-house ; where he caused her to sit on 
his right hand, the other Sisters standing in their 
order ; and the Abbess, having the book of the 
Rules and Constitutions in her lap, all the Sisters 
made their obedience to her, if they had not done 
so before, laying their right hands on the book, the 
Prioress beginning, and each saying : 

In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. 

I Sister [Beatrice of Kent] byhote* to the Abbess 
of this monastery, me for to keep obedience after 
the Rule of Saint Austin. 

To whom the Abbess, then taking the Sister's 
hands joined together between her hands, answered 
thus : And I admit thine obedience. In nomine 
Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. 

When all had done the same, the Bishop and his 
clerks went out, as he came in, by the same door, 
the Sisters following him in procession to the door, 
and there taking his blessing. 

With these rites the Countess of Salisbury was no 
doubt inducted into her high office of Abbess of 
Lacock, and the same ceremonies were repeated, on 
every vacancy, until the Nuns were finally expelled 
from their peaceful habitation. 

* Promise or pledge, a word frequently used in Chaucer, 
where it is generally written behightc. 



221 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Career of the Second William Longespe— His first Cru- 
sade, and Return — Claim to the Earldom of Salisbury — In- 
terview with the Pope — His second Crusade, and quarrel 
with the Comte d'Artois. 

The affectionate Mother was now devoted, 
almost exclusively, to her stated religious ser- 
vices, night and day, throughout the year ; but it 
cannot be supposed that, with the holy remem- 
brance of her Husband, the thoughts of his children 
should not, at times, have been present to her, and 
have had a part in all her prayers. After the lapse 
of a few years, most of her offspring were w r idely 
separated from her ; the sons on military service, 
the daughters conferred in marriage on distant lords. 
On all, and each, who can doubt she would fre- 
quently bestow some tender thoughts : and princi- 
pally, amid her orisons, those thoughts would turn 
to her eldest born, — her favourite William, — the in_ 
heritor of the name, the name only — but with the 
name, the valour, and the piety, of his buried Father. 

In early youth, the very next year after his father's 
death, this devoted Champion had enrolled himself 
among the soldiers of the Cross ; and subse- 
quently, when debarred of his hereditary dignity, 
with his sword his only fortune, he twice left 
his native country for the perilous adventures of 



222 THE SECOND WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

the Holy Land, — the second time never to return ! 
Every private prayer, breathed to Heaven at the 
altar by his affectionate Mother, would doubtless be 
for his safety in a distant land, a land of infidels, 
combating for that Cross of her Saviour before 
which she daily knelt. 

But, in order to render our history of the family 
as complete as existing records will allow, we must 
resume our account of the second Longespe where 
we last left it, shortly after his marriage, when it 
appeared that in the year 1231 he had not fully at- 
tained his majority. 

Yet in the next year we find him serving with 
the army in Wales, being present, says Matthew 
Paris, in the royal camp, at the time when it was 
grievously despoiled by a night attack of the enemy. 

An old chronicle in the Bodleian Library * states 
expressly that in 1233 (17 Hen. III.) William 
Longespe* was girt with the sword of Knighthood, 
but not made Earl of Salisbury. 

As already mentioned, he had been first u signed 
with the Cross," in the year 1226, when Matthew 
Paris enumerates him with his most distinguished 
companions : The names are, — the Earl of Corn- 
wall (his royal cousin), William Earl Marshal, John 
Earl of Chester and Lincoln, William Earl of Salis- 
bury, G. de Lucy " his brother,^" Richard Sward, 
and many other nobles. 

* K. 84 Cart. f. 50 b. (quoted by Dugdale). 

* How Geoffrey de Lucy was Longesp£'s « brother," though 
again his companion in 1247 (see p. 227) is at present unknown. 



DEPARTURE OF THE ENGLISH CRUSADERS. 223 

Their intentions appear to have been suspended 
until towards the close of the year 1239 : when, on 
the morrow of St. Martin, an assembly of the prin- 
cipal Croises of England took place at Northampton, 
to consult respecting their journey. At this coun- 
cil, in order to prevent the Pope from diverting their 
arms against his own enemies in Italy and Ger- 
many, they bound themselves by an oath, solemnly 
taken in the Church of All Saints, to conduct their 
levies direct to Palestine. 

It does not appear from Matthew Paris that Wil- 
liam Longespe was present on this occasion. The 
oath was taken first by the Earl of Cornwall, then 
by Gilbert Earl Marshall, then by Richard Sward, 
by Henry de Trubleville, and many others. Wil- 
liam Longespe is not here mentioned. 

It seems probable that at this period, as certainly 
on his second voyage to Palestine, William Longespe 
headed another expedition, distinct from that of 
the Earl of Cornwall. Matthew Paris says, he left 
England " about the same time" as Earl Richard, 
but apparently it was not actually in his company. 

The departure of the Royal Earl took place at 
Easter 1240. He previously visited the abbey of 
St. Alban s, in order to request the prayers of that 
convent, and then repaired to London, to take his 
solemn leave of the King ; thence proceeding to 
Dover, and passing with many congratulations 
through France, he finally sailed from Marseilles, 
in defiance of the prohibition of Pope Gregory ! 



224 CRUSADE OF THE EARL OF CORNWALL. 

The very name of an English Richard carried 
terror into the hearts of the Saracens, from their 
remembrance of him of the Lion's Heart ; but from 
the state of the East at that period, the Earl of 
Cornwall had few opportunities for signalizing his 
valour. On the contrary that favourable juncture 
appeared to have arrived at which some politic ne- 
gociation alone would be sufficient to fulfil the most 
ardent hopes of the Christian world. A fierce 
dissension had arisen between the Sultan of Egypt 
and the Sultan of Damascus ; which was balanced 
by the Duke of Burgundy and the Hospitallers 
forming a treaty with the former, and the Templars 
with the latter. 

At this period, the Earl of Cornwall arrived in 
the East; and, availing himself of this posture 
of affairs, he became the contracting party, on 
behalf of the Christians, in obtaining the cession of 
Jerusalem and the greater part of the Holy Land. 
Such was the triumphal result of this expedition of 
the Earl of Cornwall, no less than the pacification 
of Palestine, and the apparent establishment of the 
supremacy of the Cross ; although in less than two 
years it was succeeded by a most disastrous reverse, 
in consequence of the irruption of the Tartan tribes, 
and the murderous sacking of Jerusalem by the 
Carasmians. 

In the mean time, the Earl of Cornwall had re- 
turned to Europe in the year 1241, and was wel- 
comed by the congratulations of the western world. 



RETURN OF A CRUSADER. 225 

In what degree his efforts had been assisted by the 
troops of Ela's son, the titular Earl of Salisbury, our 
information fails us in showing ; but from the ge- 
neral aspect of history, as already noticed, we may 
conclude that the ardent William Longespe must 
have contented himself with having, in this voyage? 
made rather a pilgrimage than a crusade. As he 
seems to have departed distinctly from Earl Richard, 
so his return was several months after that of the 
Earl, He arrived in England in the beginning of 
March 1242. # The joy which his venerable Mother 
would then experience, can only have been surpassed 
by that which she had felt on his Father's delivery 
from the tempestuous ocean. Of the general re- 
joicings and solemnities which took place on this 
happy occasion, we may form some idea from those 
which welcomed the return of William Earl of 
Essex in 1194:— 

u When Earl William had fulfilled the vow which 
he had vowed to the God of Jacob, and had wor- 
shipped in the place where the Saviours feet had 
stood, (or, as it has been expressed by the Poet of a 
later age, but of all future time : 

those holy fields 

Over whose acres walk' d those blessed feet, 
Which, fourteen hundred years ago, were nail'd 
For our advantage, to the bitter Cross !) 

returning with his followers, and visiting the sacred 
places that presented themselves on his journey, he 

* Matthew Paris. 
Gt 



226 RETURN OF A CRUSADER. 

honoured them with his prayers and his offerings, 
and so, crossing the sea, arrived in England. Being 
received at home with welcome and congratulations, 
he transmitted to all the churches in his fee, silken 
cloths, to be made into chasubles, or to adorn the 
altars ; and to us (the Abbey of Walden) he sent 
one of admirable work, better than the rest. 

" When the Earl first honoured us with his pre- 
sence after his return from his pilgrimage, we met 
him in procession, clothed in albs and copes, all 
singing, and saying with the heart as well as the 
mouth, Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini ! 
Thus, with universal joy, he proceeded to the greater 
altar, and there prostrating himself, received from the 
Prior benediction. After which, rising, and kneeling, 
he offered in an ivory box # some exceedingly pre- 
cious reliques which he had obtained in the land of 
Jerusalem, and had received in gift from the Em- 
peror of Constantinople and the Count of Flanders. 
On his rising, and standing before the altar, the 
Prior commenced in a high voice, followed by the 
rest, the hymn Te Deum laudamus. Departing 
thence, the Earl presently went into the Chapter- 
house, that he might be there saluted by all, and 
receive and give to each the kiss of peace. Thus, 
when a conversation had passed of the most agreeable 
pleasantry and familiarity, he was conducted to the 
hospitium, where the abundance of a splendid refec- 
tion was served to him and his attendants." -j~ 
* Pixis. f Monasticum Anglicanum, vol. i. p. 4*52. 



CAREER OF THE SECOND LONGESPE. 227 

Such we may presume to have been the reception 
of William Longespe, on his return from the Holy 
Land, at the cathedral of Salisbury, or even, with 
becoming changes of ceremonial, at the Nunnery 
of Lacock, 

At a later period of the same year (1242) he was 
present at the battle of Xantoigne in Guienne ; after 
which, he and the Earl of Leicester (the great 
Simon de Montfort) remained at Bordeaux with the 
King and Queen, contrary to the advice of the ma- 
jority of the English Barons, and to their own great 
loss, in the incurring of debt. 

During all this period, he continued to bear the 
title of Earl of Salisbury ; # though his claim to the 
dignity was in dispute, and he had therefore never 
obtained possession of the revenues of the Earldom. 
On this account, in 1243, the King granted him an 
annuity of sixty marks out of the Exchequer, until 
he should obtain judgment upon the claim he made 
to the Earldom of Wiltshire, and Castle of Sarum, 
which judgment the King promised should be given 
upon his return to England. -f~ 

In the year 1247, the Bishop of Worcester (Wal- 
ter de Cantilupe), and William Longespe and Geof- 
frey de Lucy, " in the bishoprick of Worcester," and 
many other nobles of the kingdom of England, in- 

* Matthew Paris gives him the title of Earl in the six places 
already quoted, edit. 1640, pp. 389, 431, 536, 582, 590, 596. 

f Dugdale's Baronage, i. 178, from « Cart.& Pat. 27 H. III. 
m. 3." 

a 2 



228 longespe's interview with the pope. 

stigated by the example of the King of the French 
(the ninth Louis, afterwards sainted,) and the nobles 
of that kingdom, were signed about the season of 
Rogation.* But William Longespe, adds Matthew 
Paris, " shrewdly imagining that, like Earl Richard 
(of Cornwall), he might, ' reaping where he had 
not sown,' collect some emolument from the cru- 
saders, went to the court of Rome, and soliciting 
our Lord the Pope -j- to further his views, said ' My 
6 Lord, you see that I am signed with the cross, and 
■ am prepared to proceed on the expedition with my 
6 Lord the King of the French, to fight for God in 
c this pilgrimage. I bear a great and well-known 
'name, that is, William de Longespe, but my for- 

* tune is small ; for my Lord the King of England, 
6 my kinsman and natural Lord, hath taken away 
' from me the title of Earl, with its estate; yet, as he 
'did this judicially, and not in his anger or from an 
c arbitrary impulse, I do not blame him. Thus I am 
c obliged to fly to the paternal bosom of your com- 
'passion ; to seek assistance from you in this neces- 
' sity. For we see that the noble Earl Richard, 
c although he is not signed with the cross, yet is 
' gathering much money in the kingdom of England, 
i from those who are signed, through the influence of 
'your too bountiful favour in that behalf; and I 

* therefore, who am signed with the cross, and in 
' want, taking hope from his example, request the 

* On the assumption of the Cross, see a note in page 235, at 
the close of this Chapter. f Gregory the Ninth. 



longespe's second crusade. 229 

e same favour for myself.' So the Pope, considering 
at once the eloquence of his address, theforceofhis 
reasoning, and the gracefulness of his person, was 
favourably inclined towards him ; and granted him 
in part what he asked, that is. a broad thong owt of 
another's hide*? 

By means of the Pope's Letters, as Matthew Paris 
afterwards mentions, the Earl of Cornwall collected 
an infinite sum from those desirous to redeem their 
vows ; •jf of which the chronicler names as an in- 
stance no less than 600/. from one archdeaconry ; 
and William Longespe obtained in all more than a 
thousand marks. 

Longespe took his second departure for the Holy 
Land in the month of July 1249, accompanied by 
Robert de Vere,^ as his Standard-bearer, and a band 
of two hundred Knights. " He departed," says 
Matthew Paris, u with the license and blessing of 
his noble Mother the holy Abbess of Lacock, be- 
ing acknowledged the General of all the Crusaders 
of England, and joined in safety the army of the 
French ;§ when the Most Christian King received 

* A certain share of the Earl of Lancaster's privilege. 

f See page 236. 

J Their licenses from the King were dated June 27 ; Longe- 
sp£'s to last until his return, but Vere's only for three years 
(Rymer's Foedera). This document directly disproves the 
statement adopted by Camden and other authors, that William 
Longespe was deprived of the Earldom of Salisbury because he 
left the realm without the King's permission. 

§ At Easter 1249 the fleet of Louis was shattered by a vio- 



230 

him and his followers with respect, and reckoned 
them among his particular friends, giving them 
thanks for having come to his assistance : and he 
beseeched all his own knights most earnestly that 
the customary pride and envy of the French should 
not excite that discord between them and the 
English, which had been experienced in the time 
of King Richard. However," adds our monkish 
historian, " at the instigation of the Devil, who is 
wont to envy the successes of men, when the French 
perceived the English to excel, and to acquire both 
profit and honour, they began to envy and slander 
them, uttering their usual sneers with jests and 
blasphemous oaths. As in the verse : 

Omnisque potestas impatiens consortis erit. 
it might also be said, 

Omnisque superbus impatiens consortis erit." 

When our patriotic chronicler reverts to the sub- 
ject, he expresses himself in nearly similar terms, 
again quoting the Latin proverb, and giving the fol- 
lowing as the speech of the " most pious" King of 
the French. "What madness," said he, "is this 
which agitates you? Why will ye persecute him, 
who hath come hither from remote parts to mine 
and your protection ; who serves as the faithful 

lent storm on the west of Syria; but the loss sustained by the 
tempest was amply repaired (in October) by the arrival of 
William of Salisbury with two hundred English knights, and 
other warriors from Constantinople. The sails were therefore 
again set, and the fleet sailed for Damietta. De Joinville. 



LONGESPES SECOND CRUSADE. 231 

soldier of God as you do ? " Matthew then pro- 
ceeds to describe the following incident as having 
been " the seed-bed of the Frenchmen's envy and 
hatred." 

" A very strong tower, not far distant from 
Alexandria, full of ladies, the wives of certain noble 
Saracens, had been taken by William Longespe, not 
by force, but by a fortuitous and fortunate accident, 
the French being wholly unaware of it ; whence 
the fame and dread of him pervaded even the remote 
parts of the East. And because both there and 
elsewhere, by the fortune of war, he had acquired 
much treasure, and had increased both his followers 
and his own honour, (which the French, though nu- 
merous and powerful, had not been able to accom- 
plish,) so from envy they slandered and detested 
him, nor could they say anything in peace concern- 
ing him. 

" But it happened again, that the same William, 
having employed some careful spies, learned by 
private information, that some of the wealthy Eastern 
merchants were going under a convoy imprudently 
small to a certain fair near Alexandria, where they 
confidently reckoned to multiply their riches. He 
therefore secretly, by night, hastened towards them, 
taking all his own soldiers with him, and rushed 
with a sudden attack like lightning upon the un- 
wary merchants, who were at once slain, and their 
guides entirely put to flight, some also being cap- 
tured ; and he took possession for himself of all 



232 longespe's second crusade. 

that convoy, commonly called a Karavan ; consist- 
ing of camels, mules, and asses, laden with whole 
silks, pigments, spices, gold, and silver ; and they 
also found with them some waggons with their 
bullocks and oxen, and some provisions both for 
cattle and men, of which there was then a great de- 
ficiency. And although William had slain and 
captured many of the enemy in the conflict, he lost 
himself only one knight and eight servants ; he 
brought back, indeed, some wounded, but they were 
restored by medical care. So he returned to the 
army, a triumphant and enriched conqueror. 

" But when this was perceived by the French, who 
had stayed behind in indolence, as well as depriva- 
tion, they, roused at once by the incitement of envy 
and avarice, met him with hostility, and, after the 
manner of base robbers,* took violently from him 
all he had obtained ; laying against him as a suffi- 
cient condemnation, that by a rash audacity, con- 
trary to the Royal ordinance and the laws of Princes 
respecting war, he had too proudly and foolishly 
disunited himself, in defiance of military discipline, 
from the body of the army. When William heard 
this, he promised himself that he should give entire 
satisfaction, by offering that all the victuals obtained 
should be distributed to the whole army as found 
requisite. But the French outrageously rejoined, 
claiming all for themselves, and despoiling him of 

* For our hero's own robbery and murder, of the innocent 
merchants, our Monk had not a word of censure ! 



L0NGESFE8 aUARREL WITH d'aRTOIS. 233 

the whole, not without reproaches. William, there- 
fore, being dejected to a bitterness of spirit, having 
suffered so great an injustice, laid a very heavy com- 
plaint before the King, adding that the Comte 
d'Artois, the King's brother, had been the leader of 
this aggression and violent spoliation. But the 
King, as he was most pious both in mind and de- 
meanour, answered with a mild voice, ' William, 
6 William ! the Lord, to whom nothing is concealed, 
6 knows that I greatly fear, lest, for the injustice and 
' wrong done to you, our pride with our other sins 
6 should ruin us. Thou knowest how difficult it 
6 would be for me, in these dangers to which I am 
6 now placed, to interfere with my Nobles, however 
6 they offend.' And whilst he was saying this, the 
Comte d'Artois came up, excited and inflamed like a 
madman, and in great wrath, exalting his voice im- 
moderately, and without saluting the King or those 
seated round, he exclaimed, c What does this mean, 
4 my lord King ? Do you presume to defend this 
c Englishman, and to repel your own Frenchmen P 
6 This fellow, in dispute of you and the whole army, 
6 following his own suggestion only, has wilfully, 
' against all our ordinances, taken nocturnal and 
6 clandestine spoils ; whilst the fame of him alone 
6 now flies over the Eastern climes, and not that of 
' the King and his Frenchmen. He hath obscured 
* all our names and titles ! ' Which when the Most 
Christian King heard, turning his face and bending 
his look towards William, he said in a mild voice : 



234 longespe's gluarrel with d'artois. 

- Now you may hear, my friend. So quickly may 
' a division arise, from which may God preserve the 
■ army ! It is requisite in a season of such diffi- 
' culty to bear with equanimity such matters, and 
' even worse than these,' To whom William re- 
plied: c So! then art thou no King, if thou canst 
f not do justice upon thine own, and punish of- 
6 fenders; whilst I promise that I, if I should offend, 
6 will give satisfaction in every thing. 7 And being 
inwardly hurt in his mind, he further added : '• Such 
6 a King I serve no longer, to such a lord I will not 
c adhere ; ' and in wrath he departed from Louis, 
leaving him much vexed at the occurrence. Then, 
going to Aeon, and continuing there for many days 
with his soldiers, he published with tears to all there 
resident, the injury he had suffered; whereby he 
made them all, particularly the Prelates, to sympa- 
thise with him, and to be offended with the French ; 
wherefore those who were skilled and experienced 
in affairs of war, foretold that this was doubtless a 
sad presage of what would follow, and that the dis- 
pleasure of the Most High would be grievously ex- 
cited by such sins. The Comte d'Artois is further 
related to have said, with a loud laugh, 6 Now the 
army of the magnificent French is well cleared of the 
tail-wearers /'* Which gave offence to the ears of 

* There was a common story, current among the enemies of 
Englishmen, that their ancestors, in consequence of having 
treated disrespectfully St. Augustine the missionary, incurred 
the punishment of wearing tails, and that the curse was here- 



ASSUMPTION OF THE CROSS. 235 

many. From that time William determined to stay 
at Aeon with the townsmen, the Templars, and the 
Hospitallers, and awaiting the arrival of the mag- 
nates of England that had assumed the cross, to 
expose to them the pride and injuries of the French; 
and to exhort them urgently that by themselves, 
and without the French, they should, by the advice 
of discreet and humble men, attempt to expel the 
enemies of Christ." 



ASSUMPTION OF THE CROSS. 

The devotee who had assumed the Cross, or become what 
the Latin chroniclers term Crucesignatus, was distinguished to 
the view of all men by a cross affixed to a conspicuous part of 
his dress. The custom originated with the Council of Cler- 
mont, held by Pope Urban the Second, in 1095. The crosses 
were received, with certain ceremonies, from the hands of 
Bishops or Abbats. Those worn by great men were made of 
silk, and worked with gold j those of the commonalty of cloth. 
The colour was originally crimson ; but different colours were 

ditary. The murderers of Thomas a Becket, and their abet- 
tors, were also cursed with tails ; a punishment which was ap- 
propriately bestowed on one of them at least, Sir Robert de 
Broc ; who, as an insult to the Archbishop, had cut off the 
tail of one of his horses, for which he was excommunicated by 
the Prelate, on Christmas Day, 1171, not a week before the 
murder. This ancient jest against the English was not for- 
gotten in the latter part of the fifteenth century, when a French 
poet, Jehan Molines, wrote thus : 

Ce Cat nonne vient de Calais, 
Su mere fut Cathau la Bleue, 
C'est du lignage des Anglais, 
Car il porte tres-longue queue! 



236 ASSUMPTION OF THE CROSS. 

afterwards taken, in order to distinguish the country of the 
.wearer. In the expedition of 1188, Philip King of France and 
his followers adopted a red cross j Henry King of England 
and his men tvhite crosses ; and Philip Count of Flanders 
green. They were usually placed on the right shoulder ; but 
sometimes on the back, and sometimes on the breast. 

The Crucesignati were invested with a variety of privileges 
and immunities. They were freed from the payment of their 
debts, until after their return ; and exempt from interest on 
borrowed money ; and also from some taxes (although at the 
same time subjected to other exactions, which were nominally 
for the benefit of the cause in which they embarked, but too 
often diverted to the personal emolument of the Pope, or of 
those who obtained the credit of being his commissioners.) 
They were also permitted to pledge their estates, without con- 
sulting their chief lords ; and to have their causes tried in the 
ecclesiastical courts. All which, as may be supposed, led to a 
variety of abuses and inconveniences. 

On the Crusader's departure from home, as on going a 
pilgrimage in later ages, he was accompanied out of his parish 
with a procession, and the parish cross, and holy water. 

Multitudes assumed the Cross, who never left their native 
country : but their vow was then redeemed by a sum of money. 
There is in the Foedera, a proclamation in the form of letters 
patent, of King Henry III. promising " in good faith " to his 
subjects, that no one who had been signed, or who should be 
signed, with the Cross in his dominions, should be compelled, 
on that account, to pay a greater sum of money for the redemp- 
tion of his vow, than he had promised at the time of his assum- 
ing the cross. This is dated at Windsor, Jan. 18, 1251.* 

* Pat. 35 Hen. III. m. 13. Rymer's Fcedera, i. 276 The 
preceding particulars have been gleaned from the Glossary of 
Ducange. 



237 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Assault of Mansoura, and Death of William Longespe — 
Vision of the Abbess Ela, in her stall at Lacock. 

During the absence of William Longespe from 
the army of the Crusaders, its Royal General re- 
ceived a message from the Governor of Cairo, 
which promised materially to facilitate the opera- 
tions of the campaign. This Emir had taken of- 
fence at the Soldan's treatment of his brother, the 
Governor who had lost Damietta on the first 
landing of King Louis ; and he consequently pro- 
fessed himself willing to deliver up Cairo to the 
Christians, being, as he alleged, himself in heart a 
convert to the faith of Jesus. At this crisis, when 
it was evidently desirable to concentrate all his 
strength, King Louis, we are told by Matthew Paris? 
" more than ever regretted the absence of Wil- 
liam Longespe and his soldiers, whereby the army 
was so materially mutilated and scandalized; and 
therefore sent in haste to him, adding at the close of 
his message, ' and you shall hear merry news, which 
shall be followed by an event long desired and a 
joy long looked-for, of which we wish and intreat 
you to become partaker.'' The rumour of this was 
also circulated among the inhabitants of that coun- 



238 ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 

try. being published among the townsmen of Aeon. 
William, therefore, at this message of so great a 
Prince, and chiefly on account of its final addition, 
returned with all his company to King Louis : and 
when he had learned from the relation of the ex- 
ulting Monarch, the offer of the Emir before men- 
tioned, he was induced, by the joy he conceived at 
it, to forgive all the injuries and rancour of those 
who had offended him." * 

Under these circumstances, King Louis adopted 
the bold resolution of marching at once towards 
the capita] of Egypt ; and with that intention the 
whole army advanced in a body, towards the close 
of November 1*249. Until their approach to the 
vicinity of Mansoura, they overcame both the open 
and insidious enmity of the Saracens ; but they 
then found the Egyptian army encamped on the 
opposite side of the Achmoun canal, ~\- resolved to 
contest the passage. Under the cover of two chas- 
chateils the Crusaders commenced a causeway over 
the stream ; but the Saracens ruined in a day the 
work of a month ; and a second time, after the 
" cats " had been rebuilt with timber obtained with 
difficulty from the ships, they were immediately 
burnt by the destructive Greek fire of the enemy. 

At length, at Shrove-tide (Feb. 8, 1250,) a Be- 
douin offered to show them a ford, and the Comte 
d'Artois, with his characteristic impetuosity, imme- 

* Matthew Paris. 

f Called by Paris and others the river Tafnis or Taniz. 



ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 239 

diately resolved to effect the passage. At the head 
of fourteen hundred Knights, including the Tem- 
plars and Hospitallers, with William Longespe and 
his followers, he threw himself into the water ; and, 
after a slight resistance, they succeeded in mounting 
the opposite bank, and the infidels were put to 
flight. 

Thus far the Christian army was successful : and, 
having surmounted an important obstacle, might, 
under prudent guidance, have continued its march 
in triumph ; but it was their next unhappy move- 
ment which led to the most fatal consequences, no 
less than the death of William Longespe' and the 
impetuous Artois, the capture of King Louis, and 
the final discomfiture of this crusade. 

If the Comte d' Artois had listened to the counsels 
of the leaders of the Military Brothers and the Red- 
cross Knights, he would not have advanced from 
the river until the main body of the army had come 
up. By sad experience, they knew that cowardice 
and bravery were perpetually vacillating in the 
breasts of the Turks, and that their panic was gene- 
rally succeeded by fury. But the fiery Comte could 
not regard with calmness the sight of Mansoura, de- 
serted by many of its inhabitants ; and, burning for 
personal distinction, he regarded their prudent coun- 
sels as the mask of pusillanimity. Matthew Paris 
gives at great length the sentiments expressed at 
the council of war ; in which, after the overbearing 
Artois had insulted the Master of the Templars, 



240 ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 

William Longespe is introduced as attempting to 
moderate the contest, and thereupon receiving a 
repetition of the Comte's injurious aspersions on 
the English Nation. 

To the Templar's advice the arrogant Comte had 
replied : ■ Oh the old treason of the Temple ! Oh 
c the ancient falsity of the Hospitallers ! Oh the de- 
( ceit so long concealed, which now so manifestly 
4 breaks out into view ! This is that which we have 
c so long conjectured, and which has been so truly 
' foretold, that the whole of this Eastern land had 
6 now long since been conquered, had not those who 
* proclaim themselves to be the Religious of the 
6 Temple, and the Hospital, and the rest, impeded us 
' laymen by their deceits ! They dread that, if the 
4 land be subdued by the Christian forces, their own 
( dominion, which is fed by such ample revenues, 
' should come to a conclusion ! Therefore it is that 
6 they destroy with various potions, and, plotting 
6 with the Saracens, destroy with diverse treasons, 
6 the faithful who come hither, girt for the business 
' of the Cross ! Is not Frederick,^ who has expe- 
' rienced their snares, the best example of this ? ' 

* The Emperor Frederick II. who is most conspicuous in 
history as the triumphant opponent of the Papal power, and 
against whom Gregory IX. had previously diverted the arms of 
the crusaders ; as alluded to in the oath of the English crusaders 
at Northampton, noticed in a preceding page. He went to 
Palestine in defiance of the Pope's interdict ; and, notwith- 
standing the triumph of his arms, was pursued by the papal 



ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 241 

" To these satyrical and biting words, the Master of 
the Temple, William de Sonnac, and the Master of 
the Hospital, William de Castello Novo, vexed even 
to a bitterness of spirit, together replied, ' Do you 
6 think, noble Comte, that we have assumed the habit 
c of religion only to overturn the Church of Christ, 
e and, resigning ourselves to treason, to lose our own 
c salvation ? far, far be this from us, nay from every 
6 Christian ! ' And the Master of the Temple, being 
greatly irritated, then cried with a loud voice, ad- 
dressing his Banner-bearer, 'Unfold and raise our 
6 banner ! and let us proceed to battle, that we may 
6 try to-day the doubtful fate of Victory or Death ! 
e We should be invincible, could we remain united. 
' But if unhappily we are divided, like sand without 
f lime, and deficient of the cement of charity, we shall 
6 become like a ruinous edifice of falling stones.' 

"On hearing this, William Longespe attempted 
to interpose, urging the claims to attention which 
the holy, and authorised, Grand Master possessed, 
who had long resided in the country, and knew by 
manifold experience the power and the craft of the 
Saracens. But opposition still further inflamed the 
passion of the Comte d'Artois ; who, taking the 
word out of Longespe" s mouth, thunder big and in- 

anathemas, and in consequence experienced the desertion of 
the Religious Knights, and the determined opposition of every 
minister of the Church. Having been recalled to Europe to de- 
fend his Italian dominions, he had experienced the disastrous 
reverse, which closed all his triumphs, at the battle of Parma, 
only two years before the period of which we are now treating. 

R 



242 ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 

decently swearing after the French fashion * in the 
hearing of many, continued his insolent exclama- 
tions, repeating those reflections on the English to 
which he had given utterance on a former occasion : 
' Oh the cowardice/ he cried, ' of the timid tail- 
' wearers! How happy would this army be if it was 
c purged of tails and tail-wearers V On hearing 
which, William, being shocked and provoked by his 
reproaches, replied : ' Oh ! Count Robert, be as- 
6 sured I will proceed undismayed to whatever perils 
6 of death may offer themselves. We shall be, I 
c fancy, to-day, where you will not dare to touch the 
6 tail of my horse ! ' " 

So Comte Robert carried all his own way ; and, 
putting on their helmets, and expanding their ban- 
ners, they proceeded towards the enemy. 

Our historian Matthew proceeds to detail the 
fatal consequences of this fiery resolve ; but we 
may now leave him for a contemporary author of 
another kind, and still greater curiosity. The fame 
and fate of Longespe were made known by a travel- 
ling minstrel, and his Poem is still extant ; •f* af- 

* i( rapiens verbum ab ore ejus, more Gallico reboans 

et indecenter jurans." 

f It is preserved in the Cottonian collection of MSS. Ju- 
lius, A. v. fol. 76, b. and printed, with a translation, in the 
Excerpta Historica, 1831. Though the author is unknown, 
it is clear from the internal evidence of the Poem, that he 
was an Englishman, and from its existing in the same manu- 
script as Peter of Langtoft's chronicle, (though not on any 
surer authority) it has with some probability been ascribed to 
that author. 



ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 243 

fording a circumstantial, though probably poetical, 
description of all the incidents of the battle. 

The Poet opens his quaint but vivid rhymes with 
an address to his auditors, of which the following 
is a nearly literal translation : # 

List with grief and with pity who wish to be told 
Of the good William Longespe the champion so bold, 
Who at Shrovetide, in Egypt, his life-blood hath spent, 
As among the great host of King Louis he went, 
At a Castle of Egypt, Mansoura by name, 
Which shall never in Paynim relinquish its fame, 
For 'twas there that King Louis a captive was ta'en, 
With the other brave Knights who were then in his train. 
And 'twas there the Comte d'Artois, Sir Robert the fierce, 
Whose pride was the cause of so sad a reverse, 
With esquires and true knights many more, met their fate, 
So complete the disaster, the slaughter so great ; 
There a host of brave men have, alas! found their grave, 
And there fell the good Knight, William Longespe the 
brave ! 



* The following lines will furnish a specimen of the ortho- 
graphy of the original, as the above of its expressions. 

Ky vodra de doel & de pite oier tres graunt. 
De bon Willia Longespee ly hardy combatant 
Ke fust oscis en Babilone a, la quarame pernant, 
Ke od le Roi Louys alat o son host mut graunt, 
A un chastel de Babilone Musoire est nomee, 
Ke touz jours en Peinime sera renomee 
Por ly Rois qe fust pris en cele chevachee 
Et les altres chivalers ki furent de sa meigne'e. 
Et ly Cunte de Artoise, sire Roberd li fers, 
(Ceo fu par son orguile : tant fu surquiders ! ) 
E meinz altres esquiers & pruz chivalers 
I perderunt la vie : tant urunt desturbers! 
Et meint home vailant i avoit dunqe oscis 
Et ly bon Willam Longespe'e, li chiva'-er harcliz. 

R 2 



244 ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 

The narrative of the Poem is commenced with 
a description of the successful attack of the Chris- 
tians upon the Saracens, after crossing the river, 
their short repose, and the council of war which 
ensued. The sentiments of the chiefs are expressed 
very much to the same purpose as by Matthew 
Paris. The Comte d'Artois * insults the Master of 
the Temple by telling him, ' Ha ! Dan Templar, 
c you will always wear the wolf's skin with us/ 
The Templar remonstrates " courteously " ; and the 
Count Longespe (as he is styled by the Poet) re- 
commends attention to his experienced advice ; 
when the Count d'Artois insolently exclaims : ' Ye 
( may well be English who are such councillors. 
6 We will not be arrested either by your assertions 
c or your denials. We will rush forward to seek the 
6 Saracens, over land and over sea ! ' ^ Then the 
Count Longespe, who, says the Poet, was always 
quick £ changed his purpose as soon as he heard 
that provoking speech : ' Now proceed when you 

* The line of d'Artois' first speech 

Nous ne creum Sarazin de mere soit nez. 

does not seem to have been properly understood by the trans- 
lator in the Excerpta Historica, who has rendered it, " We 
do not believe the Saracens to be of mother born ! " The mean- 
ing appears to be: "We do not fear (cre\\x\~]num) Saracen 
born of mother," an expression equivalent to the more modern 
phrase, " born of woman." 

f This was probably a customary expression among the 
Crusaders. 

J " Touz jours legers." 



ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 245 

c please/ he said, e for I will be before you. Be as 
i eager as you will, I shall still be the foremost ! ' 

So they at once assumed their lances and their 
swords ; laced on their helmets and iron hats ; the 
Master of the Temple commanded the horses to be 
harnessed, and the Count Longespe the banners to 
be spread ; " for they were now the foremost, so 
valiant were they;" they entered into Mansoura, 
" as if it had been their own quarters." 

When they had thus unadvisedly rushed into the 
fortress, the wily Saracens closed the gates, and the 
Christians suddenly found themselves entrapped as 
in a snare. Before them, at the further end of the 
fort, was the river, " deep, long, and wide ;" behind 
them was the well-barred portcullis ; and on both 
hands were high stone walls. The Saracens sur- 
rounded them on all sides, " armed with Turkish 
bows and poisoned arrows, with long swords of 
well-tempered steel, and with large stones, of which 
they had prepared a great abundance. Then," con- 
tinues the Poet, " the Saracens made a fierce at- 
tack upon us, joining in parties of five together to 
cast immense stones, and to crush us with heavy 
hammers. If God had not cared for us, not one 
could have escaped. 

"The Count d'Artois, on his great charger, 
pierced with his lance the first of the enemy's ranks; 
but he had not heart nor courage to remain longer, 
so fiercely was he assailed with iron and steel. The 



246 ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 

road led strait from the gate to the river ; so, im- 
mediately after overthrowing the first that he en- 
countered, he turned towards the river, to attempt 
to escape by swimming. But what more the Count 
did cannot be told you. His soul is in hell in great 
torment /." 

The pious Poet then proceeds to relate the at- 
chievements of the Master of the Temple, who at one 
time would have been run through the body by the 
lance of an emir named Beder, had not Longespe 
ridden up at the moment, overthrown the emir and 
his great horse, and cut off his head ! However, 
the Master was shortly after mortally wounded by 
an envenomed arrow, and " his soul was richly pre- 
sented to God ! " quoth the holy bard. # 

The rest of the Poem relates so immediately to 
Longespe, and his own knights and personal fol- 
lowers, and is so interesting, that it must be ap- 
pended without abridgement : 

* The principal discrepancy between the Poet and de Join- 
ville, the French historian of this Crusade, who was with the 
army, is that the latter states that the Master of the Temple 
lost only an eye at Mansoura; but that, on losing the other in 
the battle which took place on the advance of the main body 
under King Louis, he then expired. It will be remarked that 
our Poet frequently speaks as if he had himself been present 
on this fatal occasion : thus he gives his opinion of the number 
of the Saracens which met the Crusaders on landing from the 
river, as 3500 : and in his description of the conflict he uses 
the first person plural. 



ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 247 

" In that division Sir Robert de Vere was slain, a 
very trusty, stout, and valiant Knight. His swift horse 
was slain under him ; and the good Knight, left on foot, 
stood against a wall, and fought right bravely. Seventeen 
Saracens surrounded him, swearing his death; and with 
his good and slashing sword he slew them. That day 
well showed them how true and valiant he was. He 
fought on foot until he could fight no longer. There 
perished his body ; his soul went rejoicing to God! 

" But we must now leave all these, and speak of the 
stout Knight, the best warrior, than whom a more valiant 
cavalier hath not fought in arms since the time of Roland.* 
This was the Earl Longespe, who fought most bravely, 
and sold his life right dearly. He, with five others, con- 
tended with rank after rank, until the evening, when he 
gave himself up a martyr. The first was a Templar 
named Sir Wymound, who was with Earl Richard f when 
he invested Ascalon, and therefore took that name when 
he was received as a Brother, and for his valour was called 
Sir Wymound de Ascalon. With him was the right 
valiant Sir Robert de Widele ; and Sir Ralph de 
Henefeld, who by the grace of God, slew many a Sa- 
racen with his murdering sword ; and Sir Alexander 
Giffard, the trusty knight, who was ever distinguished 
for his activity in arms, as was apparent one day when he 
turned it to advantage, by retreating from the Saracens in 
order to embarrass them. Sir John de Bretain, his 

* Roland, or Orlando, the hero of a French romance. 

f Richard Earl of Cornwall ; his investiture of Ascalon must 
have taken place in 1240, and the note in the Excerpta His- 
torica, p. 76, referring to its subsequent siege and capture by 
the Turks, as the origin of the Templar's name, is therefore 
not perfectly correct. The Poet afterwards calls him Sir 
Richard de Ascalon. 



248 ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 

adopted Knight, who was of Bourbon and not of Nor- 
mandy,* when he should have aided his lord and bene- 
factor, cast himself into the river and was drowned. 

" They advanced and fought most obstinately; and, be- 
fore they fell, killed more than a hundred, such slaughter 
did they make of the Saracens. Each with bold heart 
rushed up to an amiral, and struck him dead ; no defence 
could avail. A great cry was raised on the death of the 
amirals ; the Saracen soldiers, the cursed race, menaced 
fiercely, and swore by Mahomet they would take no rest 
until they had amply revenged them. The Saracens were 
both behind and before; they made impetuous attacks on 
the valiant band, and struck them behind no children's 
blows, with their right trenchant swords of steel, for their 
lances were shivered in pieces. The good Knights kept 
firmly together, each close to the rest as well as he could : 
and they killed and wounded without mercy as far as they 
could reach. As greyhounds pursue beasts flying into 
the woods, so are the Christians wont to pursue the Sa- 
racens. Around these five Knights now gathered a great 
host of the infidels,t well provided with horses and arms ; 
and the Knights, when they saw them, were much dis- 
mayed, J 

* This distinction appears to be made to show he was a 
Frenchman. It has been remarked, however, that the French 
historian Joinville is not less chargeable with national preju- 
dice than our poet ; for he does not once mention Longespe' 
or die English. 
. f See the Arabic account in p. 259. 

% Qant veint les chivalers mult sunt esmaez, 

translated in the Excerpta Historica, " who, when they saw 
the knights, were much amazed." The word veint occurs three 
lines below, " qe nouz veint ent 1 '. — which comes against us j " 
but there is here an alteration in the text, — i( qant vei[e]nt," 






ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 249 

44 Sir Alexander Giffard then said to his lord, ( Sir, for 
4 the love of God, what is your counsel regarding this 
4 host of Saracens, which now comes against us ? Shall 
4 we remain here, or fly for fear of them ? ' The Earl then 
answered, with a stedfast heart, 4 Here ought each of us 
4 to show his prowess. Let us rush on to encounter them 
4 as dogs ! For the love of Christ Jesus we will die 
4 here; for the love of Christ Jesus came we into this 
4 land, to atchieve by prowess our inheritance — the bliss 
6 of Heaven ! for no other object came we hither, to main- 
4 taining an army and waging war. But, Sir Alexander Gif- 
4 fard, if you can escape, you who have the charge of my 
4 property, and are my knight, distribute my goods among 
e my people in this manner. First, that my soul may 
4 forthwith be received into bliss, give to the poor reli- 
4 gious to sing for me ; and to the poor English who have 
* fought in the army ; and to the poor sick, who are in 
4 greatest need ; and to the lepers and the orphans ; that 
4 they may all pray for my soul ! Give for my soul my 
4 gold and my silver ; my stores and my arms give to 
4 my good followers ; and bestow all my other goods so 
4 wisely, that with me you may attain to bliss with God 
4 Omnipotent ! ' 

44 A Knight of Normandy, who was in the retinue of 
the good Earl William de Longespe, and in whom Mon- 
sieur William had much confidence, cried out aloud, say- 
ing, 4 Sir, for pity's sake, let us fly across this wide 

apparently, in modern French, quand voient. In either case, the 
knights were the party struck with dismay or surprise. 

* Matthew Paris attributes this cowardly speech to the 
Comte d'Artois himself; who, he says, when he perceived the 
danger in which they were placed, " shamefully and unwisely'* 
exclaimed, " Oh, William, God fights against us ! We can no 



250 ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 

stream ; so many Saracens are coming, we cannot hold 
out longer/ c I will not fly/ said the Earl William Longe- 
spe 5 6 never shall an English knight be reproached with 
c my having fled for fear of the vile Saracens. I came 
' here to serve God, if it so please Him ; for Him will I 
c suffer death who was crucified for me ! But first I 
6 will sell myself dearly/ Then said the Knight, 6 If you 
f will not go, I will go instantly ; I will stay no longer/ 
c Go then ! ' said the Earl, f you, who have resolved to dis- 
honour yourself, have no reason for staying here ! ' He 
fled on his good horse, which was well armed ; he cast 
himself into the river ; the stream carried him away, and, 
being at its mercy, he and his horse were drowned. His 
soul was presently committed to the Devil ! And many 
another Frenchman was drowned that day, they had such 
fear of losing their lives ; if they had fought for the love 
of God, their souls would have been in bliss with their 
Creator ! 

" The Earl then demanded of Brother Richard, if he 
wished to go; and of Sir Ralph of Flanders, who loved 
him very dearly ; and of Sir Robert de Wideley, the stout 
bachelor, and of Sir Richard de Guise, who bore his 
banner : c Will you now go, and leave me to remain ? 
6 before I go, I will suffer the loss of my head ! ' They 

longer resist. Fly and save yourself whilst your horse is able 
to bear you, and do not wait till it is too late." To which he 
replied, " It pleaseth not God, that the son of my 
Father should fly before any Saracen ! My choice is 
death with glory, rather than life with shame ! " There is on the 
whole, a remarkable correspondence between the two ac- 
counts, at the same time that they are evidently not derived 
the one from the other ; a circumstance which is highly fa- 
vourable to their general correctness. 



ASSAULT OF MANSOURA, 



251 



all replied with the greatest indignation, that they would 
not do so for any man living. i So God be our helper, 
and the valiant St. George ! I commend me to God/ 
said each for himself. Then answered the good Earl 
Longespe, ' Let us keep firm together ; so shall we have 
every advantage : so long as we can hold out, we shall 
sustain no loss ; and, should we be slain, we shall all ob- 
tain salvation ! ' 

" The Saracens surrounded the 
valiant knights, well armed, and well 
mounted, with trenchant swords, on 
foot and on horseback, before and 
behind; no living man could tell 
their number. Sir Richard de Guise, 
who bore the banner, as he turned 
round in the press, had his left hand, 
which held the banner, cut off; yet 
with the maimed limb he recovered the banner and re- 
tained it, like a stout and valiant and vigorous bachelor ! 
And the bold combatant Sir Ralph de Henfield, for the 
sake of Christ Jesus, sold his blood very dear ; as did Sir 
Robert de Wadeley,* the approved knight, who always 
went in the host to aid his lord. And Brother Richard 
de Ascalon, the noble warrior, right well deserved that 
day to attain the joy of Heaven. Their horses were 
slain : so they stood fast on foot, and stoutly fought for 
the love of God ! 

(i Sir Alexander Giffard is well escaped, with the gold 
and silver which was entrusted to him. He got the 
horses together, and loaded them ; and took the road 




* Here and once afterwards written 
Widele." 



Wadele," elsewhere 



252 ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 

towards Damietta. He leaped into the long and wide 
river \ he wished to reach Diote, as he had promised his 
liege lord the good Longespe, to distribute his property 
according to his commands. As soon as they had en- 
tered into the river, the vile Saracens narrowly watched 
them, and cast on them the Greek fire ; but they would 
rather have been burnt to ashes than have moved back a 
foot. 

" The Earl was beset by the Saracens very closely : 
they could not kill his horse, so well was he armed, nor 
could they drag the valiant hero to the ground ; but they 
cut off his left foot from the stirrup. Very grievous was 
it to see his body so mangled. When the Earl felt that 
he had lost his foot, he descended from his good horse, 
and called to Brother Richard de Ascalon, ' Where art 
thou, Brother ? Assist us now, for we are lost!" The 
Brother was right valiant, and retreated not. He com- 
forted the Earl in this pious manner, ( Be not dismayed, 
Sir ; God will hear thy prayer, and his sweet mother who 
is so dear to Him ! ' Brother Richard de Ascalon had 
lost his horse ; himself, though much wounded, God had 
preserved in the world * But Sir Robert de Wadele, 
having fought until he could endure no longer, departed 
to God, together with his valiant companion Sir Ralph 
de Henfeld ; who during all his life had kept the bravest 
company. They had inflicted great injuries on the Sara- 
cens, and cut them to pieces, and sold their lives very 
dearly. 

* This is probably the sense of the line : 

Meint pleie en le mond dieu avoit il rescu. 

translated in the Exc. Hist. " himself God rescued from many 
a wound in the world." 



ASSAULT OF MANSOURA. 253 

"The Longespe supported himself on the shoulders of 
the Brother, his slashing sword in his hand, and with 
only one foot. He cut off the head of every one he could 
reach; and spared neither high nor low, however well 
armed. A Soldan said to the Earl, c Surrender immedi- 
c ately ; you can hold out no longer against so many ; 
e surrender instantly ; if you will say so, I will defend 
c your person, and protect you from injury.' To this the 
Earl answered, crying with a loud voice, f May it please 
c God, the son of the blessed Mary, that never among 
c Christians it may be heard that I yielded myself to the 
6 Saracens so long as I had life, except it were to cut off 
e their heads with my bright sword/ Then said the Sol- 
dan, whose name was Mescadel, ' If you will not do so, 
6 the brave Saracens shall cut you up as meat to put in 
6 salt. Now your Lord, in whom you confide, shall not 
( save you ! ' The Earl replied proudly, and with a loud 
voice, c Save yourself, if you can, base villain ! Never to 
e you or any other, will I, for threat or for pain, renounce 
i Jesus Christ the omnipotent God ! ' Then was the Earl 
very closely assailed. So he again struck behind with his 
sharp sword, and cut down the Saracens who were around 
him, and all cried out loudly, ' Mercy, for God's sake ! ' 

" Then said the Earl to his dear companion, the stout 
and valiant Brother Richard of Ascalon, c Let us keep 
close together as long as we live, so shall we sell our lives 
dearly/ e Willingly/ said the Brother ; ' by Jesus the son 
of Mary, never will I fail you so long as I have life ! ' 
Both the heroes kept firm together, and lost no opportu- 
nity of striking their enemies with effect. 

" The valiant Earl of Salisbury then became infuriate. 
They were both assailed by the accursed Saracens, who 
were all eager to cut them down with their good swords ; 



254 DEATH OF WILLIAM LONGESPE. 

but they parried them like experienced combatants. The 
valiant Earl boldly rushed on an amiral, a son of the King 
of Egypt, Abrael by name, and with his trenchant blade 
gave him a mortal wound ; it divided his head in two ; 
and the body fell on the sand, staining it with much blood 
as you may be well assured. It was amply proved that 
his sword was of good temper. It caused the head to fly 
instantly aloft ; the body fell at his feet, in sight of the 
Soldan. His soul Ruffini carried away chanting to hell ! 

" When the stout and renowned Brother Richard saw 
what a blow the Earl had given the amiral, he rushed 
forward and committed to death five accursed Saracens. 

" Then a vile Saracen came galloping up on horseback, 
brandishing a trenchant sword ; and, giving the valiant Earl 
a very heavy blow, cut off his right hand, in which he 
held his sword in front of him. Then was his noble body 
cruelly dismembered; the left foot and the right hand 
being both cut off. When he had lost his hand, he drew 
back, and prayed to Jesus Christ, the Almighty, that He, 
for his Mother's sake, might be pleased to grant him ven- 
geance on that bitter race. 

" The bold and valiant body rushed forward on one 
foot to a perfidious Turk, whose name was Espiraunt. 
In the left hand he grasped his slashing sword, and struck 
off the face and chin of the enemy; but the latter, in 
falling, gave him another blow, and caused the left hand, 
which held the sword, to fly off in front. Then the 
valiant Longespe fell to the ground, for he could no longer 
stand on one foot. The Saracens came up right joyous 
and glad, and with their slashing swords cut him in pieces. 

" The stedfast combatant, Brother Richard de Ascalon, 
fell wounded and bleeding upon the Earl, nor for all the 
land of France would he have gone away ; when he saw 



VISION OF THE ABBESS ELA. 255 

the Earl dead, he resigned himself also to death ! Sir 
Richard de Guise, the good bachelor, who bore his ban- 
ner, when he saw his lord die, without more delay fell 
upon his lord, and suffered himself to be cut to pieces ! 
" Thus the Earl, and his Bannerer, and his Bachelors, 
both Sir Ralph de Henfeld the bold and brave, and Sir 
Robert de Wideley, who loved him very dearly, all these 
five good Knights were slain, all five were thus slain 
together. Jesus hath their souls in Paradise ! " 

Such, as related in this ancient Poem, was the 
mortal conflict and sad end of this noble and heroic 
warrior of the Cross, the son of the first Longespe! 
Our thoughts at once revert to his aged Mother, 
the venerable Abbess of Lacock. Nor have the 
pious historians, who have described these devoted 
atchievements of religious enthusiasm, failed to 
record a circumstance at once affecting, and indica 
tive of the holy resignation, and the fervid devo- 
tion, with which Ela regarded the fall of her Son in 
the sacred cause of the Cross. 

" In the night preceding this battle," (we again 
quote Matthew Paris,*) " it appeared to his mother 
the most noble lady Countess, and Abbess of La- 
cock, that a Knight armed at all points was re- 
ceived into the opening heavens ! The device upon 
his shield she presently recognised ; yet, being over- 
whelmed with astonishment, she demanded who it 
was that, thus ascending, was received by the angels 

* The vision is also mentioned by Trivet, in his Annals, and 
briefly in the Book of Lacock; see the Appendix, p. ii. 



256 POSTHUMOUS FAME OF LONGESPE. 

into such glory : and it was answered her, in an 
audible and distinct voice, ' William thy Son f 
Having, therefore, taken notice of that night, the 
vision afterwards proved to be clearly fulfilled!" 

Her reception of the fatal news is described in a 
subsequent passage : " Mindful of the vision, she 
with ready spirit, clasped hands, and bended knees, 
broke forth into this grateful praise of God : / O my 
i Lord Jesus Christ ! I give thee thanks, who from 
e the body of me, an unworthy sinner, hast willed 
c such a Son to be bom, whom thou hast vouchsafed 
e to redeem with the crown of so glorious a Mar- 
6 tyrdom ! I therefore trust, that by his tutelege I 
c may the more quickly arrive at the roof of my 
' heavenly country!' So the relators of the melan- 
choly tidings, who had long been silent from fear, 
were astonished at her maternal piety ; seeing it 
was not resolved into words of sorrowing complaint, 
but rather into those of spiritual joy." 

Great and extended was the celebrity atchieved 
by William Longespe, in his heroic and devoted 
sacrifice of life, to the united call of military honour 
and religious enthusiasm. Not only did his ex- 
ploits become, as we have seen, a stirring subject 
for the minstrel's rhymes, but they were perpetually 
referred to as a signal example of martial fame, if 
we may credit Matthew Paris. In mentioning the 
differences between England and France, in 1252, 
that historian states, that such was the glory that 
William Longespe* had acquired by standing his 






THE BONES OF LONGESPE. 257 

ground, when even the French King's brother, the 
Count d'Artois, basely fled, — that even Frenchmen 
could not deny that he shone, surrounded with 
a crown of martyrdom, and was to be preferred, 
if such a comparison was allowable, even to the 
blessed Edmund.^ The latter, a glorious Con- 
fessor, as was manifested by the incorruption of 
his body and a multitude of miracles, — and the 
former a Martyr openly approved, an elegant, brave, 
and generous Knight, — were both alike a thorn of 
offence in the eyes of the French ! " 

Once more, under the same year, Matthew Paris 
mentions that, when the French messengers were 
sent to the Soldan of Babylon to iiegociate the re- 
demption of prisoners taken in the crusade of King 
Louis, he said to them, " I wonder at you Christians, 
6 who venerate the bones of the dead, that you do 
' not ask for the bones of the most illustrious Wil- 
' liam Longespe ? For many things, how true I 
( know not, are dropped into my ears and others', 
- respecting those very bones ; such as, how, in the 
' darkness of night, there have been appearances 
* upon his tomb, and how those who have called 

4 upon his Lord have received many benefits from 
' heaven. For, on account of his excellence and 

5 honourable birth, we caused his body to be reve- 

6 rently interred, when he was slain in battle.' In 
answer to whom the messengers, having consulted 

* Edmund of Abingdon, the sainted Archbishop noticed In 
a preceding page. 

S 



258 EFFIGY IN SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. 

among themselves, replied : * How can we detract 
from this Englishman, when even these Saracens are 
unable to deny the celebrity of this William !' They 
therefore requested his bones to be given to them, 
which the Soldan graciously granted ; and, carrying 
them to Aeon, they reverently buried them in the 
church of the Holy Cross." 

There is in the Cathedral of Salisbury a sepul- 
chral effigy of a Crusader, which has been generally 
attributed to the second Longespe, though some 
writers have thrown a doubt upon that appropria- 
tion, on account of the costume. But these critics 
have perhaps been more scrupulous than judicious ; 
for the armour is chain-mail, and we are not aware 
in what it differs from that worn at the period of 
his death. # And what can be more probable than 
that Ela should have placed a monument to her Son, 
in the same sacred edifice in which the bones of his 
brave and illustrious Father reposed ? 

That Ela actually did confer upon his memory 
this last token of her love and admiration, is ren- 
dered the more probable from the circumstance that 
a similar memorial (though necessarily a cenotaph) 
was placed to commemorate the sacred warfare of 
his comrade Sir Robert de Vere ; respecting whom 
and some others of Longespe's devoted comrades, a 
few notes will now be appended. 

* It is engraved in Dodsworth's History of Salisbury Ca- 
thedral, pi. 2 of monuments j ard in Britton's History, pi. 3. 






259 



ARABIC ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE. 

An Arabic account of the assault of Mansoura, printed in 
Johnes's edition of Joinville, is interesting, and remarkable 
for being characterised not by that flowing and poetic diction 
which is generally deemed characteristic of Oriental composi- 
tion, but for a sedate and circumstantial detail which singu- 
larly contrasts, in the present instance, with our poetic Eu- 
ropean accounts. It appears from this Arabic historian that 
the first defeat, after the Christians had crossed the river, was 
sustained by an Emir named Fakreddin, who was slain : " The 
French, after the death of Fakreddin, retreated to Dje'dile ; 
but their whole cavalry advanced to Mansoura, and, having 
forced one of the gates, entered the town : when the Mussul- 
men fled to the right and left. The King of France [i. e. the 
Comte d'Artois] had already penetrated as far as the Sultan's 
palace, and victory seemed to declare for him, when the baha- 
rite slaves, led by Bihars, advanced, and snatched it from his 
hands ; their change was so furious that the Frenchmen were 
obliged to retreat. The French infantry, during this time, had 
advanced to cross the bridge ; had they been able to join their 
cavalry, the defeat of the Egyptian army, and the loss of the 
town of Mansoura, would have been inevitable* Night sepa- 
rated the combatants, when the French retreated in disorder, 
after leaving fifteen hundred of their men on the field. ' 

The fatal battle in which King Louis was made prisoner, 
took place on nearly the same spot, but not until the 5th of 
April, nearly two months after the assault of Mansoura, during 
which the crusading army had made no advance. 

* This confession is remarkable, and highly honourable to 
the chivalry of the Crusaders. 



s 2 



260 



SIR ROBERT DE VERE, THE " STANDARD-BEARER 
OF WILLIAM LONGESPE, 



It is somewhat remarkable that the Editors of the Excerpta 
Historica should have been at a loss for any particulars of the 
history of Sir Robert de Vere ; as his fame is recorded in 
several works in alliance with that of William Longespe*,* and 
as they were acquainted with his armorial shield, which it 
might be supposed would have directed them to a work of no 
little genealogical fame. On pursuing this clue, it would have 
been found that he was of the family of Vere of Drayton, 
whose history is included in the sumptuous work of Henry 
Earl of Peterborough, generally known as Halstead's Genealo- 
gies, the most magnificent volume of family history that 
England has produced. 

Sir Robert de Vere was grandson of a knight of the same 
name, who was a younger brother of Aubrey the first Earl of 
Oxford. His father, Sir Henry, was Constable of Gisors, in 
France j and left by Hildeburga, daughter of Baldwin de 
Bosco, two sons : Sir Walter, who assumed the name of Dray- 
ton, being lord of Drayton in Northamptonshire ; and Sir 
Robert, the hero of Mansoura. The latter became lord of Ad- 
dington and Twywell, also in the county of Northampton, by 
gift of his uncle Sir William de Vere ; and of the town of 
Thrapston, from the gift of Baldwin de Wake, on marrying 
Margaret, aunt to Baldwin. By this wife he probably had his 
two sons, Baldwin and John ; the former of whom was the an- 
cestor of a long line of Vere, one of the heiresses of which was 



* Particularly in the account of Longespe' in Dodsworth's 
Salisbury Cathedral, p. 195, and in Gough's Sepulchral Monu- 
ments, vol. II. p. cvi. 



SIR ROBERT DE VERE. 261 

married to the first Lord Mordaunt, in the reign or Henry the 
Seventh. 

Sir Robert de Vere married secondly Helena, who is supposed 
in " Halstead " to be that Elena, the daughter of Roger de 
Quincy, the last Earl of Winchester of that family, who was 
first married to Alan la Zouche. If that was the fact, she was 
mother of that Roger la Zouche who married Ela, daughter of 
Stephan Longespe.* 

About 1236 we find Robert de Vere attaching himself to 
Geoffrey de Lucy, who, by a charter, f granted to him, " ^vo 
homagio et servitio suo," a pension of 1005. from his mill of 
Daylenton, until he could provide him with land to the same 
value. We have previously seen that Geoffrey de Lucy was a 
comrade, if not a relation, of William Longespe ; J though his 
name does not occur at Mansoura. Therefore, in attaching him- 
self to Longespe, Sir Robert de Vere probably had the full as- 
sent of Lucy ; indeed, another charter shows that the rent from 
the mill of Daylinton was confirmed to Helena de Vere, as 
part of her dower, after the death of her husband, by a 
charter of Geoffrey de Lucy, dated on the day of St. Sixtus 
the Pope (March 28) 1251. § 

* See before, p- 155. 

f Printed in Halstead's Genealogies, p. 251. In the same 
place is a charter, or rather letter, of Margaret de Lacy, 
Countess of Lincoln and Pembroke, " a son cher amy Sire Ro- 
berd de Vere" requesting him to return the eating knife of 
jaspar, (le cut el ad la manche de JaspeJ which her lord had lent 
him at the request of her father, as she was desirous to send it, 
with other things, to her lord beyond sea." On this letter the 
Editors partly grounded their opinion that Helena de Vere 
was Elena de Quincy, and therefore sister to this Countess of 
Pembroke. 

% See before, p. 222. § Halstead, p. 253. 



262 



SIR ROBERT DE VERE. 




On going the holy voyage, Sir Robert de Vere assumed the 
simple ensign of St. George, a red cross in a silver field, and his 
descendants were ever after permitted to bear this emblem of 
his pious campaign and glorious death. It is remarkable that 
in " Halstead," he is described as the Standard-Bearer of 
Longespe. At Mansoura, according to the Poet, Sir Richard 
de Guise bore the Banner, but that was after the death of 
Vere ; and if we admit this circumstance in the history of the 
latter, (which though apparently resting on no other evidence 
but tradition, may still be correct) it may be supposed that 
his red cross (the badge of the Crusader) was assumed as 
the distinguishing mark of his having filled the office of 
Standard-Bearer to the chief commander of the English 
crusaders. To the charter by which his widow Helena trans- 
ferred the marriage of her sons to Sir Gilbert de Segrave, is 
attached a seal on which she is represented standing, with this 
cross depicted on her gotvn, and holding on her right hand a 
hawk, the symbol of her noble rank.+ 

In the church of Sudborough, in Northamptonshire, she 
erected a monument to her lost Crusader, in which his effigy 
still remains, in chain armour and an ample surcoat, his legs 
crossed, his left arm bearing a shield, and his right hand in the 
act of drawing his sword, or of returning it to his scabbard. 
Of this monument there have been three engravings; 1. in 



Engraved in Halstead s Genealogies, p. 254«. 



SIR ALEXANDER GIFFARD. 



263 



Halstead's Genealogies, p. 253 ; 2. in Hyett's Sepulchral Mo- 
numents of Northamptonshire, pi. xi. ; and 3. in an interesting 
little work recently published, entitled, " A Glimpse at the 
Monumental Architecture and Sculpture of Great Britain, by 
M. H. Bloxam," and to which we are indebted for the use of 
the cut, here inserted. 




MONUMENT AT SUDBOROUGH. 



SIR ALEXANDER GIFFARD. 



This faithful Knight, who escaped to fulfil the dying requests 
of William Longespe, was, like Sir Robert de Vere, supposed 
by the editors of the Excerpta Historica, to be unrecorded 
except by the Poet. His escape, however, is also noticed by 
Matthew Paris, who says it was effected after he had received 
"Jive great wounds." The chronicler adds " he was of gentle 
blood, and the son of a noble Matron, who was dwelling with the 
Queen of England." 

The family of Giffard was indeed one of the most illustrious 
in England during the reigns of our Norman Kings. Two of 
them, named Walter, were Earls of Buckingham in the first 
century after the Conquest. Another branch, also dating from 
the Domesday survey, was seated at Brimsfield in Gloucester- 
shire, the last of whom was so wealthy, that he was called le 
Rych, from his great possessions. He was the son (by another 

s 4 



264 SIR ALEXANDER GIFFARD. 

wife) of that John who married the widow of the third William 
LongespeV* 

Sir Alexander, the hero of Mansoura, was evidently a near 
kinsman, and probably a cousin-german of the same John. He 
was the son of Hugh de Giffard, of Boyton in Wiltshire, a 
manor which was subinfeuded to the Giffards by the house of 
Salisbury, at a very earty period, and which is adjacent to Sher- 
rington, which Osbern de Giffard, the ancestor of the Giffards 
of Brimsfield, himself held in capite at the Domesday survey. 
Boyton was then held in demesne by Edward of Salisbury j but 
in 12 Henry II. it was held by Elias Giffard of Patrick Earl of 
Salisbury ; and in various records it is stated to be de veteri 
Jeoffamento. The feudal dependence on William Longespe of 
his trusty knight, Sir Alexander Giffard, is thus very clearly 
demonstrated. 

We have also the best evidence of Sir Alexander's immediate 
parentage. In a deed of gift to the nunnery of Tarrent in 
Dorsetshire, he describes himself as " the son of Hugh Giffard, 
of Boyton," and mentions his mother Sibilla.f This Sibilla, 
the " noble matron " mentioned by Matthew Paris, was the 
daughter and coheir of Walter de Cormeiles. His father also 
was equally in the royal favour ; for in 1235, Henry the Third 
appointed Hugh Giffard to be Constable of the Tower of Lon- 
don 3 describing him as one " of our household." + 

Two of the brothers of Sir Alexander, both originally mem- 
bers of the cathedral church of Wells, rose to very exalted 
stations. Walter became Bishop of Bath in 1264, and was 
Archbishop of York from 1266 to his death in J 279; Godfrey 
was consecrated Bishop of Worcester in 1268, and held that 
see for the long period of forty-three years : and both filled 
the office of Lord Chancellor. Their sister Mabilia was Abbess 
of Shaftesbury. 

God'rey, whilst Bishop of Worcester, was lord of the manor 

* See p. 151. f Hoare's Hundred of Heytesbury, p. 197. 

X — " qui est de familia nostra." Some similar expression 
may have given rise to the misapprehension of Godwin, that 
Bishop Godfrey was " llegi sanguine propinquus." 



FAMILY OF VITRE. 263* 

of Boyton ; and Sir R. C. Hoare, in his History of the Hundred 
of Heytesbury, has introduced his curious Will. What is more 
to our present purpose, a view is there given of a monumental 
effigy in Boyton Church, which, though the plate is inscribed 
with the name of Elias Giffard, was yet conjectured to be Sir 
Alexander by the historian himself, although unaware that Sir 
Alexander Giffard was a crusader, — a circumstance which 
confirms the identity of this cross-legged effigy. 

Thus, at Boyton, as at Salisbury, and at Sudborough, 
reposes the figure of one of the champions of Mansoura. He 
probably did not long survive the hardships he had endured in 
the crusade ; for the effigy " represents a person cut off in the 
prime of life." On his shield he bears three lions passant, the 
arms of the Giffards of Brimsfield, differenced by a label. 



ANDRE DE VITRE. 

The name of this person is here introduced, because, 
although it has not hitherto occurred in the narrative of the 
Assault of Mansoura, yet it was there he met his death, being 
a cousin of William Longespe, and of the same family as Alia- 
nor Countess of Salisbury, the mother of the Countess 
Ela, the Foundress and Abbess of Lacock. 

Since the earlier part of this volume was printed (see par- 
ticularly pp. 31, 83, 97,) the genealogy of the family of the 
Countess Alianor (called in the Book of Lacock de Viteri), 
which had been sought in vain among the records of this 
country, has been discovered in those of Britany and Nor- 
mandy, and proves to be of very exalted rank, worthy the 
alliance of an English Earl, himself descended (as shown in the 
pedigree at p. 107) from the Corates de Ponthieu, the Dukes 
of Burgundy, and the Dukes of Normandy. The annals of this 
house occupy a large portion of one of those volumes of histo- 
rical genealogy, in which the French are so much richer 

s 5 



264* FAMILY OF VITRE. 

than ourselves ; entitled, " Histoire de Bretagne, avec les 
Chroniques des maisons de Vitre* et de Laval ; par Pierre Le 
Baud," fol. 1638 $ and, though the name of Alianor Countess 
of Salisbury does not occur in that work, yet the records sup- 
plied by the kindness of Mr. Stapleton, prove her exact position 
in the pedigree in the most satisfactory manner. 

The family of Vitre* were descended in the male line from 
Martin de Rennes, a younger brother of Conan Duke of Bri- 
tany, who died in 992 ; and Alianor Countess of Salisbury was 
through her mother first-cousin to Duke Conan le Jeune. 
Again, Andre* de Vitre, brother to the Countess of Salisbury, 
married a cousin-german of the same Conan ; and Andre* de 
Vitre*, his son, who was slain at Mansoura, married Catharine, 
granddaughter of Conan, and half-sister to the unfortunate 
Prince Arthur. These and the other links, which connected 
the house of Vitre* with the sovereign house of Britany and the 
Royal families of England, will be more clearly shown by the 
accompanying table (Pedigree V.) 

The circumstances of the marriage of the father and mother 
of the Countess Alianor, claim our notice from their connec- 
tion with England. Robert de Vitre had been taken prisoner 
in a petty feudal war by his neighbour Roland de Dinan ; who 
"detained him until the Comte Conan, son of the Duke 
Eudo* and the Duchess Bertha, and cousin-german to Ro- 
land, (see note to the Pedigree,) returned from England, 
where he was then staying tvith the Queen his cousin-german, 
daughter of the Comte Geoffroi his uncle, f And then, at 

* M. Le Baud, throughout his History, invariably confounds 
Alan Niger, Earl of Richmond, the first, with Duke Eudo, the 
second husband of the Duchess Bertha, and makes the latter 
the father of her children. His mistake is obvious ; for in 
noticing a passage in the chronicle of Robert du Mont, he 
translates the words, " Eudone vicecomite vitrico suo" by "le 
vicomte Eudon son vainqueur /" 

t Earl Alan had a brother Geoffroi, Comte de Penthievre j 
and Alicia, the wife of King Henry I. is said by Le Baud and 
other early historians of Britany, to have been the daughter of 
this Geoffroi : Du Paz notices and corrects the error in his 
Histoire Genealogique de plusieurs Maisons de Bretagne. 



Page 264*. 



PEDIGREE V. 



FAMILY OF VITRE/ SHOWING THE MATERNAL RELATIONS OF ELA 

FOUNDRESS OF LACOCK, AND THEIR CONNECTIONS WITH THE 

DUKES OF BRITANY AND KINGS OF ENGLAND. 

Du/ces or Comtes of Britany. Seigneurs de Vitre. 

Juhael Comte de Rennes. 



Conan, slain 992. 
Geoffroi, d. 1008. 

I 

Alain III. d. 1040. 

Hoel^Avoise, 
d. 1084. d. 1072. 



Kings of England. 
Arlotta.=pGilbert Crespin. 

S L — -, 

William the Robert Comte de 
Conqueror. Mortaigne. 

. L 



Martin de Rennes. 

I 

Ruivallon. 

I 

Tristan. 



Robert. 

I 



Alain IV. d. 11 19. =pConstance. 

r j , 

Conan le Gros,=f=Matilda. 
d. 1148. 

r J 

Alain=f=Bertha.=Eudo . 
Niger. | d. 1154. 

Conan le Jeune, d. 1171. 



— I _ 

Henry I.-y- 

Matilda the 
Empress. 

King Henry II. 



Agnes. =f=Andr£, d. 1135. 

1 1 

Emme de la-j-Robert. 
Guerche. | 

Emme ( a ) de Dinan. =pRobert, 
J d.1174. 



Constance, =f=Geoffroi Planta- 
Duchessof | genet, d. 1186. 
Britany, d. ' — - — | 
1201 ; 3d Arthur, Duke of 
husb. Gay Britany, common - 
deThouars. ly called Prince 
=p Arthur. 

I r 



I 
i r"rnH 1 

Alianor, Alain (de Andre" II. 

Countess Dinan b ). d. 1221 ; 

of Salis- Robert. m. Matilda 

bury.=^ Josselin: de May- 

I — ' Martin. enne. ( c ) 
am=fELA OF 



Will 
Longespe. I SALISBURY. 



:t 



J 



Catharine,=^=Andr£ III. Sieur de 
m. 1221, I Vitr£, slain at Man- 
d. 1237. | soura 1250. 
I 



William Longe- 
sp£, slain at Man- 
soura 1250. 



Philippa, dau. and heir, m. 1239 
Guy de la Val./jv. 



Emme, m. 1207 
Alard de Cha- 
teaugontier. ( d ) 



a Daughter of Olivier Vicomte de Dinan, by Agnorie, sister to Eudo Comte de 
Penthievre, the husband of Bertha Duchess of Britany : Eudo and Agnorie were 
grandchildren of Honguen, sister of Hoel, the husband of the Duchess Avoise. 

b Made heir to bis uncleJitoland de Dinan in the presence of King Henry II. 

r - Daughter of Geoffroi de Mayenne, by Constance sister to the Duchess Bertha. 

d Emme de Vitre was a hostage to King Richard I. for the Duchess Constance. 



1 



Family of vitre. 265* 

the desire of Conan and Roland, and for the deliverance of his 
body, Robert de Vitre took to wife Erame, sister to Roland, 
cousin-german to the said Comte Conan, and niece to the 
Duke Eudo, being daughter of Agnorie his sister. With 
which Emme he received in marriage from the Comte Conan 
the land of Colinge, with all its appurtenances, and from Roland 
he received Chenel*," &c. (Chroniques de Vitre, p. 27.) 

Now, it is remarkable that this u land of Colinge " is the 
same manor of Culing or Cooling in Suffolk, which afterwards 
came to the Countess of Salisbury, and has been already men- 
tioned in pp. 98, 157. It belonged to Earl Alan (of Richmond) 
at the Domesday survey ; and from him had descended to his 
great-nephew Duke Conan, who was also Earl of Richmond in 
England • and he bestowed it on this Breton lord, Robert de 
Vitre\ When Andrew the son of Robert married his sister to a 
husband already possessed of lordships in England, it was a 
natural arrangement that the English manor should be given 
in her dower. And this we find was the fact. 

But the Earl of Salisbury was not her first husband. By the 
following charter copied by Mr. Stapleton from the chartulary 
of the abbey of Mondaye near Bayeux, now preserved in the 
episcopal library of that city, her brother Andrew first granted 
her marriage to William Paynell, lord of Hambie in Normandy 
and Drax in Yorkshire. 

ie Univ'sis s'c'e m'ris eccl' filiis &c. Andreas de Vitreio in 
d'no salutem. Descretionis vestre noscat intuitus et memoriter 
teneat, quod ego Andreas de Vitreio dedi et concessi Willelmo 
filio Fulconis Paganelli cum sorore mea Alienor in libero con- 
jugio, terre mee de Normannia quam simul partiti fuimus ego 
Andreas et ipse Fulco Paganellus, medietatem illam quam sibi 
elegit in maneriis meis de Ria et Trungeio et Duxeio, et insuper 
xx*i libras stellicorum annuatim habendas in manerio meo de 
Coelinga ,etiam hoc tenendum de me etheredibus meis sibi et suis 
heredibus libere quiete et integre. Testibushiis, Richardo ep'o 

* This should be Cheuel' ; it is spelt " Chefuel " in a manu- 
script copy of Le Baud in the Bibliotheque du Roi. It does 
not appear whether it was in England or in Britany. 



266* FAMILY OF VITRE. 

Abrinc'. Roll* Dolens' electo. * Will'o Paganello archid. 
Roll' de Dignando. Alano de Rohan. &c." 

The next extract, from the Cartulary of Hambie f , an abbey 
founded by the Paynells, shows the sister of Andre" de Vitre 
actually married to the Earl of Salisbury : its date is 1206 : 

" Andreas de Vitreio et Robertus Cantor Parisiensis frater 
ejus J et Alienor Comitissa Salesburi soror eorum, No- 
veritis &c. pro salute Will'i Paganelli &c. in duabus garbis 
decime de Ria quas Johannes persona ecclesie de Trungeio 
tenebat nomine canonicorum de Gastineto." 

It would appear from the " Rotuli de Dominabus," p. 11, 
that William Paynell was dead in 1 185 ; that his lands had been 
farmed for more than a year ; and that the heir was three years 
old. There are numerous charters belonging to this family 
which show that William was succeeded in the Paynell lands by 
his brother Fulke ; we may therefore conclude that the infant 
heir mentioned in 1185 was the nephew (not the son) of Wil- 
liam ; and the descent of Alianor's lands to the daughters of 
her second marriage with the Earl of Salisbury fully confirms 
this j for the claim of a male heir, and especially when born of 
a marriage on which the lands (Cooling, &c.) were first settled, 
could never have been passed over. 

We now arrive at a fact of singular interest, after the discus- 
sion that has already taken place on the subject, and after the 
conflicting accounts of the circumstances in which the orphan 
Ela of Salisbury was placed after her father's death. This is, 
that not only did her mother survive the Earl for many years ; 
but Ela had actually two sisters, of the whole blood, These 
ladies, however, were neither of the two parties already named 
in pp. 96, 98 ; for " the wife of Gilbert Malmaines " appears to 
have been the Countess Alianor herself, during a third mar- 
riage, which will be noticed hereafter. 

* Rolland was elected Archbishop of Dole in Britany in 
1 177, and not consecrated for some years after. 

f Excerpta among the collections of Mons. C. de Gerville. 

j Elected Archbishop of Tours in V20S, but his election 
annulled by the Pope. 



FAMILY OF VITRE. 265 

The names of Ela's sisters were Juliana and Joanna. 

The former is proved by a charter dated 1227, in the car- 
tulary of Mondaye, by which " Alianor quondam Comitissa 
Salesberiensis, pro salute animae meae et JulianceJilicB mece" 
gave ten pounds of Tours, for the observation of the anniversary 
of Juliana then defunct. Juliana had, in her lifetime, 
designated the abbey of Mondaye as the place of her inter- 
ment : " Notum, &c. quod ego Juliana D'na de Tyleriis elegi 
sepulturum meam in abbatia S'c'i Martini de Monte Dei et ibi- 
dem dedi Deo et s'c'e conventui pro salute animae meae &c. 
xiim libras in prefectura de Aquila, &c." Tellieres is situated 
between Verneuil and Nonancourt, and not far from Aigle. In 
the Liber Niger of the church ofBayeux is a charter of Gilbert 
de Tellieres, dominus deCroleio (Creully castle near that city), 
bearing the date 1219. This was certainly the husband of 
Juliana. His name occurs also in the Liber Rubeus Scaccarii. 

Juliana left a daughter and heiress, Hylaria lady of Tellieres, 
married to James de Bovelingham, who in her right styled 
himself DVs de Tyleriis (Cart, de Monte-Dei ;) and whose 
name occurs in the close roll respecting Cooling (p.. 99, antea). 

Joanna, the third daughter of Alianor Countess of Salisbury, 
was married to Sir Thomas Malesmains, who by her became 
the father of Nicholas, as rightly conjectured in p. 99. The 
wardship of the heir of Thomas, and Joanna his wife, was 
granted to the Earl and Countess of Salisbury (William Lon- 
gespe" and Ela) in 1221.* The following charter of Mon- 
daye proves this portion of the pedigree most satisfactorily. 
"Notum &c. quod ego Nicholaus Malesmains Alius d'ni Thomae 
Malesmains militis pro salute a'i'e mee et a'i'ar' antecessor' et 
successor' meor' quietam et ratam habeo et habui elemosinam 
quam fecit d'na Alianora de Vitreio avia mea quondam Comi- 
tissa Saleberiensis in tempore viduitatis sue, Deo et abbatie 
s'c'i Martini de Monte Dei, videlicet patronatum ecclesie s'c'i 
Vigoris de Trungeio, &c. Anno gratie m<\ cc«. xxviii." 

By another charter dated in 1232, Nicholas Malesmains, 

* Close Rolls, vol. i. p. 468. Johanna is also mentioned in 
the Fines of King John, 8vo, 1835, i. p. 142. 



266 ANDRE DE VITRE. 

" pro salute a'i'e Juliane d'ne de Tyleriis," confirms her gift of 
twelve pounds rent in the prevdte* of Aquila. 

The statement in the Norman rolls, 6 Joh. respecting Gilbert 
de Malmaines holding Gatesden (l ex parte uxoris " (before 
cited in pp. 98, 99) shows that Gilbert de Maimaines must have 
been the third husband of the Countess Alianor : he was doubt- 
less related to the Thomas who married the Countess's daugh- 
ter, perhaps even his father by a former wife ; but the degree 
of their consanguinity has not been ascertained. 

The Countess Alianor chose her burial-place, as her daugh- 
ter had done, in the church of Mondaye, and in consideration 
thereof gave to the abbey the tithe of her land in Trungi and 
Rie, by charter dated 1228. The last notice of her in the 
cartulary is of the date of 1231, which refers to the same 
donation. 

Such is the history of the mother and sisters of Ela the 
heiress of Salisbury, — hitherto unknown to our heralds and 
genealogists. The Earldom being regarded as an indivisible 
fief, and destined by King Richard for the establishment of his 
natural brother, the brave William Longespe, was assigned 
entire to the eldest daughter ; whilst the younger sisters, 
having been married to less distinguished persons, and in their 
mother's country, have escaped the view of those whose re- 
searches have been confined to the records of this country. 

To proceed to their cousin the Crusader. Andre de Vitre" 
had joined the crusade of 1232 in the retinue of Peter Duke of 
Britany ; and had returned safe. In 1248 he again determined 
to relinquish his own domains, and to accompany King Louis 
and the flower of the French nobility to Palestine. His 
son-in-law Guy Seigneur de Laval (son of Matthew de Mont- 
morency, Constable of France), went the crusade with him. 
He returned and inherited the domains of Vitre ; Andre" was 
slain, and was the last of his family ; M. de Baud says he died 
on the 8th of February ; if so, it was in the same conflict in 
which William Longespe" breathed his last. 

M. le Baud states that the first Robert de Vitre accompanied 
William of Normandy to the conquest of England, " very fully 



FAMILY OF VITRE. 



267 



accompanied by his knights," and received in reward " many 
possessions and inheritances in England, which he and his 
successors enjoyed for a long time after." (Chroniques, p. 12.) 
But this seems to be only the ordinary tale of French families, 
without any real authority $ as the name scarcely occurs in the 
English records. We only find a William de Vitri, who wit- 
nessed the foundation charter of Coddenham Priory, Suffolk, 
by Eustace de Merch, temp. Hen. II. 3 * and an Alexander de 
Viteri, as a witness to a charter without date of St. Nicholas 
Priory, Exeter.f In the Liber Rubeus Scaccarii, temp. 
Hen. II. among the King's tenants in Normandy, occurs " Ro« 
bertus de Vitriaco," holding " medietatem de Reia in Baioca- 
sino, et Trungeum et Caignoles et Duxeium in Boscagio." 
This was either the father or grandfather of the Countess 
Alianor. 

* Mon. Ang. 1655, i. 911. 

f Collectanea Topogr. et Geneal. vol. i. p. 386. 




ARMS OF VITRE. 

Gules, a lion Argent. 



268 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Affairs of Lacock Abbey during Ela's Abbacy — Early fate of 
William Longespe" the Third — Tournament at Blyth — Death 
of Ela — The Funeral of a Nun. 

Having already shown, from the Rales of the 
Order, the most striking features of the spiritual 
discipline of the Nuns of Lacock, which directed 
the unvarying course of their domestic economy ; 
it only remains to arrange and detail the particu- 
lars, neither numerous or copious, which are pre- 
served in the records of the country, or in their own 
cartulary, relative to their temporal affairs. 

The charters immediately relating to the founda- 
tion of the Abbey, have been already noticed; but 
there are some other records which are closely con- 
nected with its original establishment. In the year 
1237, by charter dated at Windsor on the 7th of 
August, the King granted to the Prioress of Lacock 
(for there was as yet no Abbess), and " the Nuns 
there serving God," that they and their successors 
should hold for ever a Fair at the manor of La- 
cock, to last for three days, namely on the eve, 
feast, and morrow of the translation of Saint 
Thomas the Martyr.* 

* See the Appendix, p. xvi. It is recorded on the Charter 
Rolls, 21 Hen, III. m. 2 ; and on m. 6 of the same year is 
another royal confirmation of the abbey lands. 



ROYAL GRANTS TO LACOCK ABBEY. 269 

In 1241, on the 6th of May, the Abbess Ela ob- 
tained two beneficial charters from King Henry. 
The first of these granted the right of holding a 
weekly Market on Tuesday.^ By the second, the 
King gave the Abbess the privilege of having every 
week one cart traversing the forest of Melksham, 
to collect dead wood, for fuel, without injury to the 
forest, during the royal pleasure.-^- 

It was on the very same day, being the feast of 
St. John ante Portam Latinam, that the Nuns con- 
cluded an agreement with the Abbat of Stanley for 
a part of his quarry of Haslebury, seventy- six feet 
wide ; in exchange for one which they had previ- 
ously bought of Henry Crok.J 

By these important transactions, and by the gifts 
of pious benefactors, the dates of which are not 
recorded, the virtuous Ela had the satisfaction of 
seeing her Abbey placed in a situation of great 
temporal prosperity. We must now, before notic- 
ing the closing scenes of her long career, make one 
more very brief digression from the annals of La- 
cock, in order to remark what other occurrences 
befel her family, besides the death of her eldest 

* See the Appendix, p. xiv. Rot. Pat. 26 Hen. HI. 

f Appendix, p. xvi. The date should be " anno xxvi°," 
both being executed on the same day, when the King was at 
Portsmouth, May 6, 1241. It is enrolled on Hot. Pat. 26 
Hen. III. m. 3. 

% Appendix, p. xxii. 



270 WILLIAM LONGESPE THE THIRD. 

Son ; and thus take our farewell view of the House 
of Longespe. 

We have seen that the widowed Countess of 
Salisbury, though she herself had relinquished her. 
temporal for a spiritual dignity, had yet been un- 
able to transmit the former, before her own decease, 
to her eldest son and heir apparent. On the death 
of that valiant son, a third William became the 
hope of the family, and in the Book of Lacock we 
find him styled " the young Earl? * But again 
the heir, an " Earl" only by anticipation, was 
snatched away by an untimely death ; and no 
second member of the House of Longespe' was ever 
confirmed in the Earldom of Salisbury. 

The " mimic war " which led to this fatal event 
is thus briefly noticed in the chronicle of Holin- 
shed : " In Whitsuntide (1256) was holden a great 
justs at Blie (Blyth in Nottinghamshire), where 
the lord Edward, the King's eldest son, first began 
to show proof of his chivalry. There were divers 
overthrown and hurt, and amongst others William 
de Longespe was so bruised that he could never 
after recover his former strength." 

The field of tournament between Blyth and 
Tickhill had been one of the five recognised -j~ by 

* See the Appendix, p. v. 

f " We may conclude from the terms of the writ that they 
were not then newly set apart for the purpose, but that the 
King was giving his sanction to what was before the usage. . . . 
The field near Salisbury is still pointed out. I have inquired 



TOURNAMENTS AT BLYTH. 271 

the charter of Richard the First, of which the Earl 
of Salisbury, the great-grandfather of this William 
Longesp£, and father of the Abbess Ela, had been 
the chief commissioner.^ 

Matthew Paris mentions a Tournament which 
took place a Blyth in the beginning of Lent 1237, 
in which the Knights of the South of England were 
opposed to those of the North, and which gave rise 
to such animosity, that the chronicler says it was 
converted from a hastiludium into an hostile hel- 
ium; and the Southrons, prevailing, took several 
great men prisoners. The enmities which it pro- 
duced continued for some time after, between Peter 
Bishop of Winchester, Hubert Earl of Kent, Gil- 
bert Basset, Stephan de Segrave, Richard Sward, 
and others ; and they were not reconciled until the 
Legate Otto became the mediator. 

Such were some of the evils to which these ebul- 
litions of the martial spirit of the times w T ere found 
to give birth, and which called for as many efforts 
of the executive government to controul and check 
them, as have been exerted at other periods for the 
suppression of the more vindictive practice of 
duelling. 

for the tournament-field between Tickhill and Blyth in vain." 
Hunter's Deanery of Doncaster, vol. i. pp. 224, 225. The 
scene of the tournaments near Salisbury has been described in 
p. 82 of the present work ; that near Brackley, called Bayard's 
Green, is noticed in Baker's Northamptonshire, vol. i. p. 573. 
* As noticed before in p. 81. 



272 DEATH OF WILLIAM LONGESPE III. 

Another evil consequence of Tournaments was 
the frequent loss of life among the combatants ; and 
some of the greatest peers in the country fell victims 
to these perilous games. Only fifteen years before 
that tournament at Blyth which now attracts our 
attention, Gilbert Earl of Pembroke died from a 
fall received at a tournament at Ware. Nor was 
Longespe the only sufferer at the tournament of 
1257. In the ensuing passage of Matthew Paris 
others, who died, are mentioned ; together with 
Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, who was very se- 
verely injured ; and whose name, as well as the 
scene of the combat, connects this " passage of 
arms" with that of 1237 already noticed, in which 
the same chivalric Earl Bigod, twenty years before, 
had proved the most distinguished champion. 

The substance of Matthew Paris's account is as 
follows : " At this time died, in the flower of their 
age, Robert de Quinci, and William de Longa- 
spatha, and Alan de Watsand, the King's clerk and 
justiciary, and John de Lexinton (an elegant, witty, 
and learned knight, the bearer of the King's seal) ; 
and Earl Roger Bigod, the Marshal, was very seri- 
ously ill, and scarcely recalled from the portals 
of the tomb ;* who had contended so manfully and 
beyond their strength in the tournament of Blie, 
that, their sinews being relaxed, they never after 
recovered their health." 

* He afterwards survived to the year 1270. 



RESIGNATION OF THE ABBESS ELA. 273 

Thus was El a deprived by death of both her 
son and grandson, her infant great-granddaughter 
being married to the young Earl of Lincoln. Nor 
were these the only trials of her maternal affections : 
in the year before her eldest son's death, she lost 
her daughter Isabella, Lady Vescy ; and in the last 
year of her life, she was preceded to the tomb by 
her son Stephan, whose body was brought to La- 
cock for interment ; so that, of all her family, she 
left only two sons and two daughters surviving, one 
of whom, Richard, the Canon of Salisbury, died in 
the following year. 

The five last years of her life were spent in per- 
fect retirement, even from the peaceful rule of her 
monastic society When, as the Book of Lacock 
has recorded, she had for eighteen years " zealously 
governed the flock committed to her, most de- 
voutly serving God, and maintaining a life of 
close seclusion, in fastings, in watchings, in holy 
meditations, and disciplines of constant strictness, 
and in other good and charitable works, she at 
length, perceiving herself to be affected with old 
age, and such weakness as prevented her from be- 
nefiting her religion* as she desired, renounced 
and refused to preside any longer, and during her 
life appointed an Abbess named Beatrice of Kent, 
on the last day of the year 1256, % and in the 

* " strenue gubernavit ." Matthew Paris also applies to her 
a similar expression, ?• non mullebriter gubernavit." 
t Her convent, or religious order ; see before, p. 204. 
% u pridie kal. Januarii A. 1257." Book of Lacock ; but in 

T 



274 ROYAL GRANTS TO LACOCK ABBEY; 

seventieth year of her age. And thus she 
survived for nearly five years after, released from 
every care." Yet even in this closing stage of her 
career, we find that she " earnestly solicited" * from 
the King some further important benefits for the 
Abbey, which were conceded in the year 1260 ; 
namely, a confirmation of the Market at Lacock, 
and the right of Free Warren there and in all her 
other lands in England ;~f* and a grant of land, in 
lieu of the right of carrying fire-wood from Melk- 
sham forest, which had been found by an inquisi- 
tion not to provide sufficient dead or dry wood for a 
" daily cartload." The portion of the forest thus 
assigned to the Nuns consisted of forty acres, de- 
scribed by these boundaries : " From the hedge and 
" ditch of Luntesleye near Wodensdich (Wans- 
" dyke) up to the road called Haggestreet^ towards 
" Chittoe, and on that road as far as Little Hese- 
" wych, to the ditch called Aldefrithesdich, and so 
" to the aforesaid hedge and ditch of Luntesleye near 
" the Milestile on the south." The Nuns were per- 
mitted to inclose this spot of ground with a hedge 

the chronology formerly in MS. Cotton. Vitell. A. vm, " A. 
mcclvii. nonas Aprilis." (Monasticon) 

* " cum dilecta affinis nostra El a, dicta Patrona dom&s 

de Lacock, nos attente rogasset," &c\ 

f Cart. 44< Hen. III. m. 2. 

% Hagges Street, so called at this day, is the way which 
leads from the Turnpike to the Fountain where Abbatia de 
Drogonis Fonte stood — the first Stanley Abbey, described in 
the author's History of Bremhill, 






DEATH OF THE ABBESS ELA. 275 

and ditch ; * and at a subsequent period, in the 
reign of Richard the Second, letters patent were 
granted to them, to inclose the same with a pale. -j" 

This was the last important favour granted by 
King Henry the Third to his " beloved kinswoman' 
the Foundress of Lacock. 

At length, " in the seventy-fourth year of her 
age, on the 24th of August 1261, ^ yielding up her 
soul in peace, she rested in the Lord, and was most 
honourably buried in the choir of the Monastery." § 

What these marks of honour were, which distin- 
guished the committal to the tomb of the mortal 
remains of the Foundress of Lacock, we have not 
any positive authority to determine. The funeral 
was probably attended by all, or some, of her sur- 
viving children, and perhaps by some other persons 
of rank. As it was a favourite practice, even with 
the laity, to be buried in the vestments of mona- 
chism,|| so Ela would doubtless, in that respect, be 
honoured with every sacred symbol and ceremony, 
as if she had died when actually Abbess. 

* See the Appendix, p. xvii ; also recorded in Rot. Cart. 
44 Hen. III. m. 4, and Esc. 43 Hen. III. no. 42. 

f Pat. 12 Ric.ll. p. 1. m. 15. 

% " ix kal. Sept." Book of Lacock ; " decimo-quarto kal. 
Maii." MS. Cotton. § Book of Lacock. 

|| " In regard of burial," it is quaintly remarked by Weever, 
** abbeyes were most commonly preferred before other places 
whatsoever ; and he that was buried therein in a friar s habite, [as 
were Walter de Salisbury at Bradenstoke, and Earl William de 
Romara at Revesby,] if you will believe it, never came into hell f* 

T 2 



276* FUNERAL OF A NUN. 

We will therefore close these remarks by briefly 
noticing the ordinary practice observed on the death 
of every Nun * of Lacock : — 

" When any Sister was dead, the body, having 
been washed, was clothed with stamen, *f cowl, and 
mantle, wimple and veil; without the Rule coat, 
but with hosen and tanned schoes, and with a 
girdle ; all of which were to be of the vilest gear, 
and all were buried with her except the mantle. 
The body was then laid on a bier, J and covered 
with a chest, made in the manner of a lattice, that 
the body might be seen. It was never to be left 
by two Sisters, at the least, praying for the soul, 
saying their psalter, or dirige, or other prayers, 
until it was taken into the church." 

Before the corpse was carried out to be buried, it 
was sprinkled with holy water, the affecting psalm, 
De Profundis, § was sung, with the prayers begin- 

* Arundel MS. 146, ch. IX. f See p. 194. 

X Coffins were not used ; except those of stone, and they 
were placed within the grave previously to the interment, ready 
to receive the body. An ancient painting on the walls of Win- 
chester cathedral, represents the Funeral of a Nun ; whose 
body, clothed in her religious habit, appears laid out on a bier, 
set down by the side of her grave ; but there is no sign of 
any coffin. See an engraving of it in Carter's Antiquities, 
copied in Bloxam's " Monumental Architecture," 1834, p. 108. 
To the latter work we are indebted for the woodcut opposite, 
a vivid representation of a Funeral in the thirteenth century, 
drawn by the hand of our old friend Matthew Paris himself, in the 
MS. Cotton, Nero D. i. 

§ " Out of the Deep," &c. the 129th Psalm. 



FUNERAL OF A NUN. 



277 



ning Inclina, and Fidelium. Whilst it was being 
conveyed to the church, De Profundis was again 
chanted, together with the 113th psalm, beginning 
In exitu. At the church porch, the service com- 
menced with the anthem In paradisam, and then 
the mass of Requiem was performed ; after which, 
the body was again sprinkled with holy water, and 
perfumed with incense, and then, with other prayers 
and anthems, it was consigned to that place of decay 
and oblivion, of which the Nun, when alive, had re- 
ceived a daily admonition ; for a bier, strewn with 
a little earth, always stood before the church door ; 
and a grave was kept constantly open in the ceme- 
tery, which was visited by the convent every day 
after Tierce, when the Abbess cast out from it with 
her two fingers a small portion of earth, the Sisters 
chanting the solemn and humiliating notes of the 
oft- recited De Profundis. 




FUNERAL DRAWN BY MATTHEW PARIS. 



278 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Affairs of the Abbey after the death of the Foundress Ela — 
Succession of Abbesses — Property of the Abbey in 1291— 
The hearts of Amicia Countess of Devon, and Bishop Ni- 
cholas Longespe — Ecclesiastical Survey of 1535. 

The annals of the Monastery, which were proba- 
bly contained in the Book of Lacock, having been 
irrecoverably lost, the catalogue of Abbesses, suc- 
ceeding after Ela, which can now be collected, is by 
no means complete. Alicia has been placed next 
to Beatrix of Kent ;* and then Juliana, who oc- 
curs in a charter of 1288, and also in 1290.-^ 

From the Ecclesiastical Taxation of Pope Nicho- 
las, made about 1291, we may collect our first view 
of the yearly revenue of the Abbey. The following 
are the particulars, gleaned from separate entries, 
and it is therefore possible that some small items 
were overlooked. It should also be considered that, 
as the valuation was made for the purposes of a tax, 
it is perhaps below the real value : 

* In the list formed by Stevens. 

f Wymarca, the Prioress, whose name is mentioned by 
Stevens after that of Juliana, was evidently the Superior of 
the convent before the Foundress Ela assumed the dignity of 
Abbess in 1240, as she was contemporary with Hugh Abbat of 
Cirencester 1230—1238. (Cartulary, f. 101 b.) 



ECCLESIASTICAL TAXATION OF 1291. 279 

Rated value Tenth. 

£. s. d. a£. s d. 

Sarum Lacock ....... 20 200 

dioc, - Portion of the Church 10 10 

Chittern ...... 25 13 4 2 11 4 

Bishopstrow . . . , , 11 17 1 3 8| 

Heddington ..... 7 19 15 11 

Shrewton ...... 100 020 

Aldeburne 1 10 3 

Wykelescote 2 10 5 

Winton. Shorewell in the Isle of 

dioc. Wight ..... 17 1 14 

Wigorn. Hatherop ...... 220 4 2| 

dioc. Cerney 3 11 7 1| 

.=£101 12 4 e£lO 3 3 
Among the possessions here enumerated is the 
manor of Shorewell in the Isle of Wight; which had 
been given to the Abbey, a few years before, by 
Amicia Countess of Devon, and " lady of the 
Isle," together with her heart. The date of this 
acquisition cannot be precisely ascertained, for 
Amicia was left a youthful widow so early as 1245 ;* 
but it was probably after 1262, as the donation was 
confirmed by her daughter Isabella, who in that 
year became the heiress of her brother Earl Bald- 
win. The tie which connected the Countess Ami- 
cia with the Abbey of Lacock, which we might 
otherwise have sought in vain, is shown by her 
foundation charter of the Abbey of Buckland in 
Devonshire. Among the relations whose spiritual 

* She was the daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Glou- 
cester, and widow of Baldwin Earl of Devon. 



280 AMICIA COUNTESS OF DEVON. 

health she had then in view, was her daughter Mar- 
garet, a Nun at Lacock.* The maternal feelings 
under which she bequeathed her heart to rest near 
that daughter whom she had resigned in this world 
to be devoted to the services of religion, can be 
better conceived than described. The Countess 
Amicia died at an advanced age in 1296. Her body 
was probably interred at her own foundation of 
Buckland ; her heart at Lacock. 

The obit of the Countess of Devon was yearly ce- 
lebrated in the church of Lacock Abbey on the feast 
of St. Andrew (Nov. 30), when four bushels of corn 
were distributed to the poor, and on the eve and 
day of that feast three poor persons were fed with 
bread, drink, and meat, to the value of 2d. each. •jf 

The reception within the walls of our abbey, in 
the following year (1297), of the heart of the aged 
Nicholas Longespe, Bishop of Salisbury, the last 
surviving son of the Foundress, is another instance 
of pious affection. % 

Agnes was the name of the Abbess in 1299, at 
the granting of a lease to Richard le Mareschal of 
Lacock. § Her successor was Johanna de Monte- 
fort, who occurs in 1303-4. || 

It appears from a document preserved at Lacock 
Abbey, that on the death of an Abbess named Faith, 

* Leland's Collectanea, vol. i. p. 40. 

f See the statement of the annual payments of the Abbey 
at the close of this Chapter. 

X The triple division of the Bishop's mortal remains (a 
practice then customary), has been before noticed in p. 157. 

§ Stevens. || Sec the Appendix. 



SUCCESSION OF ABBESSES. 281 

during the minority of Richard II., the Prioress of 
the convent, named Agnes de Wick, was elected in 
her stead. The sub-prioress and nuns notify their 
choice to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and 
King of Castile, and petition for his approval and 
confirmation of it. That the Dukes of Lancaster 
were deemed the hereditary " Founders/' or patrons 
of Lacock, as the representatives of the hou3e of 
Longespe, is shown by some pleadings which took 
place in the reign of Henry VIII. * 

In 1408 the Abbess Elena presented to the 
vicarage of Lacock ; -j~ and in 1434 a third Agnes 
presented to that of Cliff Pypard.J 

From the same pleadings above mentioned, it 
appears that an Abbess, whose name is not men- 
tioned, died on the 6th Feb. 1483 ; and that Mar- 
gery of Gloucester was immediately after elected 
her successor. 

To Margery, as appears by the same record, suc- 
ceeded the last Abbess, Johanna Temys ; and 
though the date of her succession is not mentioned, 
it was probably shortly before 1516, when that trial 
took place. This lady continued to preside until 
the dissolution and dispersion of her society. 

As one of the lesser Monasteries, Lacock was 
placed in the King's power by the Act of Parlia- 
ment passed in 1536 ; but, in pursuance of the 

* — " domus et ecclesia de Laycok non sunt ex fundacione 
Regis de jure Coronae, set ratione Ducatus sui Lancastrian" 
See p, 320, and the Appendix, p. li. 

f Institutiones of Wiltshire. X Ibid. 



282 SURRENDER, AND ABBEY SEAL. 

clause which empowered him to continue such as 
he thought proper, it was one of the thirty which 
he spared and reconfirmed. 

But this reprieve was of scarcely three years' 
duration ; for the Abbey of Lacock was surrendered 
to the King on the 21st of July 1539. The fatal 
document is still preserved in the Augmentation 
Office. It was taken before John Tregonwell and 
William Petre, Clerks in Chancery ; and the only 
signature it bears is that of the former, " p me Jo. 
Tregonwell:" but it is ratified by the common 
seal of the Abbey, from which the accompanying 
engraving has been made. 

This seal is clearly of the same age as the founda- 
tion of the Abbey ; and represents the Virgin and 
Child, with the Lady Abbess, placed in a niche 
below, kneeling in prayer. 

To JohannaTemmes, the last Abbess, was assigned 
a pension of 40/. ; which she still enjoyed in 1553, 
when a return was made of the surviving members 
of the monasteries, to whom pensions then con- 
tinued to be paid. Her family appear to have be- 
nefited by the distribution of the monastic property.* 

At the Surrender, besides the Abbess, and the 
Prioress, there were fifteen other Nuns, to whom 
the following pensions were assigned, to be paid 
them half-yearly during their lives : § 

* See the account of the Abbey estates hereafter, under 
Bishopstrow, Hatherop, and Shorevvell. 

f The first of these lists is now printed correctly from the 
original in the Augmentation Office, in the volume of original 



T. 23'a 







~-^Z^Z£*:?-£ 



•T.GatAorn del. 



NUNS AT THE SURRENDER. 




5283 


Pensions assigned Jan. 21, 


1540 






Remaining 


in 1553 




*£. 


s. 


d. 


£. 


s. 


d. 


Johane Temmes, Abbess . 


40 








40 








Elenor Monmorthe, Prioress 


5 














Anne Brydges .... 


4 














Amys Patsall . . . . . 


4. 














Elyn Benett 


4 














Margarett Legetton . . . 


3 


6 


8 








Elsabeth Wylson . . . 


3 


6 


8 








Elsabeth Baynton . , . 


3 


6 


8 








Agnys Bygner [Bugmore] 


3 


6 


8 


3 


6 


8 


Margarett Welshe . 


3 


6 


8 








Johane Marshall .... 


3 














Elsabeth Wye . ... 


3 








3 








Elenor Basdale [Backesdale] 


2 


13 


4 


2 


13 


4 


Anne Trace [married* 1553] 


1 2 


13 


4 


2 


13 


4 


Scoleastf Hewes [Hures] . 


2 








2 








Elenor Maundrell . . . 


2 














Tomesyn Jerves [Jarvys] . 


2 








2 









s£91 £.55 13 4 
Signed, Jo. Tregonwell, 
William Petre, John Smyth. 

Besides the seven pensions above mentioned, 
there also remained in charge, in 1553, 9/. 6s. 8d. 
in fees, and 2/. in annuities. 

assignments of Pensions, f. 124. The list of 1553 is from 
Willis, and furnishes the variations in the names which are in- 
serted in brackets. 

* Of sixteen Nuns of Ambresbury, surviving in 1553, two 
were married ; and of sixteen surviving of Wilton, the same 
number. Of the thirteen monks of Bradenstoke, who sur- 
rendered in 1540, only four were dead in 1553, and four of the 
survivors were married. 
. f Scolastica. 



284 survey of 1535. 

Having already seen an account of the property 
of the Abbey, made within the century of its Foun- 
dation, we shall now be enabled to compare it with 
another, which was formed only a short time before 
its Surrender. Whatever nominal increase had taken 
place, during the intervening period of 240 years, 
in the rents accruing to the convent, it is evident, 
from the names of the places, that but little addi- 
tion had been made to the territorial extent of its 
possessions. If its revenue in money was nearly 
trebled, its chief estates were the same on which it 
had originally depended for support. Among the 
annual payments enumerated in the following ac- 
count, occur some of the most curious facts which 
have descended to us respecting the history of the 
Abbey. We are informed of the observances in 
memory of the Foundress and others, in doles to 
the poor, and candles about their tombs ; it is also 
there recorded that the Abbey maintained three 
Priests, for the daily celebration of divine services, 
and " one discreet and learned priest, the General 
Confessor to the Convent, and the teacher and 
preacher of the word of God.'" Some of the prin- 
cipal gentry of the vicinity, as well as the Abbess's 
own kinsmen, are also named as holding honour- 
able offices in the service of the Abbey. 

This is a portion of the general Valor Ecclesi- 
asticus, made when King Henry the Eighth first 
assumed the supremacy of the Church of England, 
and determined to appropriate to himself those an- 



SURVEY OF 1535, 



285 



nates which had been previously rendered to the 
Pope. The payments to the Pope had been made 
upon the footing of the old taxation of Pope Ni- 
cholas ; but the new payments to the Crown were 
to be made upon the actual value of Church pro- 
perty ; to ascertain which this Survey was taken. It 
is entitled, — 

'* The true Value of all the Demesnes, Manors, Lands, Tene- 
ments, Rents, Tithes, Oblations, and all other profits, coming 
or belonging annually, or in ordinary years, to the Abbey of 
Lacock, whether in Wiltshire or in other counties within the 
kingdom of England, by the Inquisition of Sir Henry Long, 
Knt. Henry Pole, John Hamlyn, and John Bonham, esqrs. 
the King's Commissioners.* 





£. s. 


d. 


Lacock 


.52 14 


61 


Ambresbury 


2 





Bishopstrow 


24 6 


11 


Upham 


1 13 


4 


Slade 


2 





Hedyngton 


13 19 


^2 


Shrewton 


7 6 


8 


Weyclescote 


. 6 





Chittern . 


. 49 4 


°2 


Hannam and Bytton 


1 6 


4 


Trowbrygge 


. 8 





Clyff Pypard . 


. 10 





Uffcote 


. 13 


4 


Bristol 


. 6 


8 


Carried forward . 


171 19 


°2 



* Translated from the " Valor Ecclesiasticus," vol. ii. 
pp.115 — 118. The particulars of each estate will be found 
more fully stated in the next Chapter. 



2m SURVEY OF 1535. 

<£. s. d. 
Brought forward 171 19 3| 

Hatherupp . . 18 6 4 

Woodmancote . .568 

Shorewell . .800 



£.203 12 3£ 
From this gross income were to be paid the fol- 
lowing " Deductions and Allowances." 

Remittences of Rent to Chief Lords. 

*P. s. d. 
Chief rent to the Dean of Leicester, issuing from 

the land called Old Goore 6 

Chief rent to the Rector of Edyngton from land 
in Bishopstrow . . . . . .020 

Chief rent to John Pagnam for land in Bishop- 
strow, called Hyllmede 1 

Chief rent to the King from a tenement in Trow- 
bridge, namely, the price of one lb. of pepper . 2 

Chief rent to John Mewes, esq. from land in 
Shorewell called Sloeom, in compensation for one 
cartload of boughs and two cartloads of thorns . 2 



6 7 
Annual and perpetual Rents, and Burdens paid annually. 

Pension to the Vicar of Lacok, as more fully ap- 
pears by a composition 10 

Pension to the Vicar of Winterbourne Shrauton, 
in augmentation of that vicarage . . .10 

Paid to the demesnes of Warminster for having 
common for cattle in that heath, throughout the 
year 020 

To the Abbat of Cyssetur (Cirencester) for a 
fine for releasing the Abbess's suit to the hundred 
of Cirencester . . . . . . .010 



Carried forward . .230 



survey of 1535. 287 

£. s. d. 
Brought forward . .230 

To William Baleham, for disburdening the com- 
mon for certain sheep within the demesne lands of 
the manor of Shorewell . . . . .068 

Paid in default of a suit to the court held twice 
a year at Carisbrook, in the Isle of Wight . .010 

Paid for the disburdening the pasture of certain 
sheep on the Abbess's pasture at Slocom . .0 5 

Money paid annually to the Escheator of W T iltes 3 4 

Paid to the Warden of the Queen's forest of 
Blackmore, for having common there for all the 
Abbess's animals, throughout the year, from time 
out of mind . . , . . . . 4< 

For 30 lb. of wax, bought for the maintenance 
of four candles daily about the tomb of Sir John 
Blewett, Knt. generally costing 7d. a lb. . . 17 6 

For 44 lb. of wax, for twenty -five candles daily 
lighted throughout the year,* about the tomb of the Lady 
Ela Longespe, the Foundress, at Id. . .15 8 

Paid on the Obit of John Goodhyne, as by his 
charter more fully appears . . . . 19 

Paid annually, as part of the charge of the vest- 
ments of the Convent, issuing from the rectory of 
Clyff Pypard, of the gift of John Maydenhy th . 8 

For the stipend of three priests, daily celebrat- 
ing divine services within the Abbey, from the time 
of its foundation, each taking 61. . . , 18 

To one discreet and learned priest, the General 
Confessor of the convent, and the teacher and 
preacher of the word of God . . . .600 

Distributed on the day of the Purification of the 
Blessed Mary, from the gift and appointment of 
Jordan de Kyngston 13 4* 



a£.39 11 6 

* Of course they burned only for a short time daily, during 
the Mass for the Dead. 



288 survey of 1535. 



Yearly Alms. 



d\ s. d. 



Paid and distributed in money to the poor on 
Good Friday, from the foundation of John May- 
denhyth (J 8 

To the poor in money on the feast of Saint Pe- 
tronilla the Virgin, from the foundation of Sir John 
Blewett, Knt. on the appropriation of the rectory of 
Lacock 2 18 

To the poor on the feast of St. Bartholomew the 
Apostle, for the soul of Lady Ela Longespe, the 
Foundress, eight bushels of corn, worth 5s. 8d. and 
sixteen cheeses, or dried fish Wallaces J, worth 8s. . 13 8 

To three poor persons on the eve and day of St. 
Bartholomew, and on the eve and day of the prof es- 
sion of the said Lady Ela Longespe, to each of 
them daily in bread, drink, and meat, worth 2c?. . 2 

To the poor on the feast of St. Cecilia, for the 
soul of Lady Margaret Lacy, Countess of Lincoln, 
four bushels of corn worth 2s. 8d. ; and on the eve 
and day of that feast to three poor persons, in 
bread, drink, and meat, to each of them daily 2c?. 
worth 3 8 

In money distributed to the poor on the feast of 
St. Andrew the Apostle, for the soul of Amicia 
Countess of Devon, four bushels of corn, worth 
2s. 8d.; and on the eve and day of that feast to 
three poor persons, in bread, &c. (as above) . 3 8 

To three poor persons every day during the whole 
of Lent, in bread, drink, and meat, 6 loaves, 3 pot- 
tells of ale, and 6 dried fish, worth in all daily 6d. ; 
the sum for all Lent 13 6 

Distributed to forty-five poor on the day of the 
Lord's supper (Holy Thursday), in bread, &c. to 
each the value of 2\d. 9 4| 

Carried forward . . 5 4 2£ 






survey of 1535. 289 

&. *. d. 

Brought forward . . 5 4? 2>\ 
To the poor on Good Friday 22 of the con- 
vent loaves, worth in ordinary years . . .012 

To one poor person daily throughout the year, 
two loaves, one pottell of ale, and in food Id.- worth, 
in all worth 2^rf. daily. Sum of the whole year 

Fees. 

To Sir Edward Baynton, Knt.* Chief Steward of 
the Monastery, for his yearly fee 

To John Bonham, Esq. Receiver-general of all 
manors, lands, and tenements of the Monastery . 2 

To Thomas Temse, Steward of the Courts of the 
manors . . . . . . . .200 

To the same for his fee as Auditor . . .200 

To Edmund Thame,f esq. as Steward of the Court 
of the manor of Hatherupp 13 4? 

To Christopher Temse4 Steward of the house of 
the Abbess, for his yearly fee in all things apper- 
taining to his office . . . . . . 6 13 4' 

To Thomas Mardytt, receiver or collector of the 
rents of the manor of Lacock . . . .16 8 



3 


16 


o§ 


?.9 


1 


6 


& 


5. 


d. 


2 


13 


4 



Carried over . . *£.17 6 8 

* Of Bromham , cousin - german to the Abbess, whose 
mother was Jane Baynton, his aunt (see p. 291). 

f Of Fairford in Gloucestershire, near Hatherop, a family 
distinct from that of the Abbess. He was knighted before 
1540. 

% After the Surrender, Christopher Temse was made Re- 
ceiver of all the possessions of the monastery, by letters pa- 
tent dated 14 Aug. 31 Hen. VIII. and Sir Edward Baynton 
and Andrew his son were Chief Surveyors. Ministers' ac- 
counts, 31 Hen. VIII. 

U 



290 survey of 1535. 

Brought over . . -£.17 6 8 
To John Junner, steward, bailiff, and collector of 

the rents of the manor of Chittern . . .16 8 

To John Oldffyld, bailiff and collector of the 

rents of the manor of Hedyngton . . . 13 4 

To Howell Appowell, bailiff of the domain or 

manor of Lacock 2 



e£.21 6 8 

Sinodals and Procurations. 

a£. s. d. 
Money paid to the Bishop of Salisbury every 

third year, as a pension or sum for his ordinary visi- 
tation at Clyff Pypard, 4s. 6d. ; at Shrewton rec- 
tory, 4s. 6d. 9 

Paid to the same Bishop every third year, as a 
pension or sum for his ordinary visitation at the 
monastery of Lacock 2 13 4 

To the Archdeacon of Wiltes, annually, out of 
the rectory of Clyff Pypard, viz. his procurations,* 
7s. 5\d. ; for his pension, 2s. 6d. ; for the pension 
of the Bishop of Sarum, 3s. 4d. ; for the pension of 
the Dean and Chapter of the church of Sarum, 
3s. U. j in all 16 7£ 

In money paid annually to the Archdeacon of 
Sarum for procurations issuing out of the rectory 
of Shrewton 12 6 



Total . £A 11 5\ 

s£. s. d. 
Total value (as before) . . .203 12 3± 

Total of all deductions and appropriations 74 17 7| 



And remains clear . . . . s£U28 14 8 



* The same sum as now received, 1835. 



FAMILY OF THE LAST ABBESS. 291 

PEDIGREE OF TEMMES, THE FAMILY OF THE 
LAST ABBESS OF LACOCK. 

From the Visitation of Wiltshire, made in 1565, by William 
Harvey, Clarenceux. MS. Harl. 1565,/. 48 b. 

Arms. Quarterly : 1 and 4, Party per chevron wavy Or 
and Az. three fleurs de lis Counterchanged, Temmes ; 2 and 3, 
Argent, a pale lozengy Gules within a bordure Az. Bezantee', 
Lushill -, impaling, Ermine, three bows in pale, Bowes. 

Crest. An antelope's head erased Or, horned and guttle Sa. 

John Temmes, of Rode Ashton * in com. Wilts, marid Jane, 
daughter and one of the heires of S* John Lushill, of [Lussellj] 
in the same com. Knight, sone and heire of S r Symond Lushell, 
Knight, lord Lushill, and steward of the household to King 
Henry the 7, being then erle of Derbye, wch John and Jane 
had yssue John Temmes, sonn and heire. 

John Temmes of Rode Ashton, sonn and heire of John, 
marid Mary, daughter of John Mychell, of Calston, in com. 
Wilt, and by her had yssue Will'm son and heire. 

Will'm Temmes, of Rode Ashton, sonn and heire of John, 
marid Jane, daughter of Robert Baynard, of Lackham in the 
said com. and by her had yssue Robert, sonn and heire, Phil- 
lip 2 sonne, George 3 sonn, Christopher 4 sonn, Thomas 5 sonn,X 
Elizabeth, marid to Robert Bath,\ of Bisshoppstrow, in the said 
com. clothier. 

* Now called Rowd Ashton, the seat of Richard Long, Esq. 
many years Knight of the Shire, and father, now living, to the 
present member, Walter Long, Esq. 

f Visitation of 1623. 

% There can be little doubt that the Abbess was sister to 
these two brothers ; the former of whom (as we have seen in 
p. 289) was Steward of her house, and the latter Steward of 
the Courts of her manors, and the purchaser of the manor of 

Bishopstrow after the Surrender. Christopher married 

Ringwood, and had issue Henry and William. (Visit. 1623.) 
This Henry was probably the same who witnessed the deed of 
sale of Bishopstrow, executed by John (his cousin-germar.) 
in 1578. (see p. 314.) 

\ To this Robert Bathe and Elizabeth his wife, (her brother- 

u 2 



292 FAMILY OF THE LAST ABBESS. 

Robert Temmes, of Rodeashtonn, sonn and heire of Will'm, 
marid to his first wife Margarett, daughter of Will'm [John] 
Ernley, of Cannyngs in the said com. and by her had yssue 
Will'm, sonn and heire. After, the said Rob' marid to his 2 
wifFe Jane, daughter of (blank) Parres, of (blank) and wydowe 
of John Ludlowe, of Hyldeverell in the said com. and by her 
hath no yssue. 

Will'm Temmes, of London, gent, sonn and heire of Robert, 
marid Elizabeth, daughter of [John*] Best, of London, mer- 
chant, and by her hath yssue Elizabeth and Judyth. 

Thomas Temmes, of Byshopst[r]owe in com. Wilt. 5 sonn of 
Will'm aforesaide, marid Elizabeth, daughter of Bowes, of 
London, merchant, and by her hath yssue John, sonn and 
heire; Ann, marid to Will'm Jordane, of Chitterne in com. 
Wilt, and by her hath yssue Marye. f 

John Temmes, of Charewell in the Isle of Wight, in com. 
South, sonn and heire of Thomas, marid Katherine,J daughter 
of Lawrence Stowghton, of Stowghton in com. Surrey, gent, 
and by her hath yssue Lawrence, sonn and heire, Will'm 2 sonn. 



A Richard Temmes was Vicar of Monkton, Wilts, in 1539. 
(Valor Ecclesiasticus.) 

The same arms, impaling a cross patonce, are on the tomb, 
at Horshill in Surrey, of Susannah, wife of Matthew Teeme, 
who died Oct. 29, 1718, in her 31st year, " a tender moiher" 

in-law and sister) the Abbess granted a lease of the manor and 
conventual lands at Bishopstrow, for 99 years (see the account 
of that estate hereafter). 

* Visitation of 1623. 

f They also had issue Sir William Jordan, of Chittern, Knt. 
living in 1623, and Temys Jordan, his younger son See a pe- 
digree of Jordan in the Visitation of Wilts, taken in 1623 , in 
which Thomas Temvs is styled of West Ashling in Sussex. 

J Born Feb. 6, 1541-2. In the pedigree of Stoughton, Hist, 
of Surrey, i. 171, her husband's name is incorrectly printed 
Fenys. 



293 



CHAPTER XV. 

The Estates of the Abbey. 

Lacock — Notton — Hatherop — Woodmancote — Bishopstrow — 
Hedington— Shrewton — Chittern — Shorewell — Wiclescote — 
Albourn — Amesbury — Bristol — Bytton and Hanham — Calne — 
Chicklade — Chippenham — Cliff Pipard — Machinden — Slade — 
Trowbridge — Uffcote — Upham — Westbury. 

In treating of the estates of the Abbey, we shall 
pursue, in the first instance, the order in which the 
places are mentioned in the charter of the Countess 
Ela, viz. — the manors of Lacock, (we next turn to 
the adjoining hamlet of Notton,) Hatherop, (here is 
inserted Woodmancote, the contiguous gift of Con- 
stantia de Legh,) Bishopstrow, and Hedington, and 
the advowson of Shrewton. We shall then proceed 
to Chittern, the gift of William Longesp6 her Son ; 
then to Shorewell in the Isle of Wight, bestowed 
by Amicia Countess of Devonshire ; to Wicles- 
cote, the early gift of Katharine Luvel ; and to 
Albourn ; and, having thus noticed all the estates 
enumerated in the Taxation of 1291, and which 
always constituted their principal property, shall 
finally notice the other smaller estates, which were 
acquired from various benefactors, and at various 
periods. 

LACOCK. 

The existence of a British castle at Lacock, formed by 
Dunwallo, (whose sera was A.U.C. 285) and of houses be- 
longing to the Earl of Salisbury, previously to the founcla- 



294 MANOR OF LACOCK. 

tion of the Abbey, have been already alluded to.* The 
account of the place contained in Domesday Book, has 
not yet, however, been laid before the reader : 

" Edward himself holds Lacock. It was held by Edwin 
in the time of King Edward (the Confessor), and rated as 
seven hides. The land is sufficient for nine ploughs. Three 
hides and a half of it are in demesne, in which are three caru- 
cates, seven serfs, twelve villagers, sixteen coscez, and three 
cottars, f There are two mills yielding 17s. 6d. rent; twenty 
acres of meadow, and half an acre of vineyard. The woods 
are in breadth and length one leuca. The manor is and was 
(in the Confessor's time) worth sB7 (yearly)." \ 

Besides this manor, there was another small one in La- 
cock, distinct from the fee of Edward of Salisbury, and 
belonging to that of Alured of Marlborough : 

" Alured himself holds one virgate of land in Lacock. 
It is enough for one plough, which is there, with one bordar ; 
and two acres of meadow. It was worth 10s., now 5s. This 
land (with others before mentioned) Carlo held in the time 
of King Edward." § 

Of this latter portion we are unable to trace the subse- 
quent history ; nor is it essential to our present purpose. 

In the account of the larger manor, we have the de- 
scription of a well cultivated and well peopled district. 
The two mills were no doubt upon the Avon. No church 
is mentioned ; but such a population would not be left 
long after the Conquest without having the offices of reli- 
gion brought to their own doors. The probability is that 

* See pp. 2, 122. 

f The words coscez and coiarii, which have been sometimes 
considered synonymous, are here applied to distinct persons. 
% Domesday Book, f. 62 b. § Ibid. f. 70 b. 






MANOR OF LACOCK. 295 

Lacoek owes its church to Edward of Salisbury, or 
to his son Walter, the Founder of Bradenstoke, in con- 
junction with the lord of the contiguous manor of Lack- 
ham, one of the early members of the family of Bloet. 

On founding her Abbey, the Countess Ela transferred 
to the Sisterhood the whole of that manor which had be- 
longed to her ancestor Edward, together with Ci the ad- 
vowson of the Church " (of which latter more hereafter.) 

The Cartulary records several minor gifts and purchases 
of property in Lacoek ; but as they are without date, it is 
difficult to bring them into any order or instructive point 
of view. In briefly noticing them, we must take them as 
they occur. 

The first is a covenant with Roger de Bloet, then parson 
of Lacoek, respecting a mill with a pool, and a bridge, 
both of which the Nuns had built ; for the former he was 
to demand nothing from them, and the latter they were 
bound to keep in repair.* 

In the time of the Abbess Beatrix, the successor of Ela, 
the Convent made an exchange of lands with Sir William 
Bloet ; the latter giving them five acres in Short-furlong, 
and a spring in Lackham's-ley, from which they might con- 
vey water across his land to their conduit. The Nuns 
gave him in return several small parcels of land amount- 
ing to the same number of acres. f Four other documents 
follow respecting the watercourse. 

John Sewal sold to the Abbess Juliana for four marks 
of silver all his messuages in Lacoek ; others were quit- 
claimed by Richard Malloc and Alditha Pilevel ; by Wil- 
liam of Chippenham, tailor, for 40s. ; by Nicholas Flour ; 
by Nicholas son of Roger of Heddington ; by Edward 
Sweyn, Peter of Bristol, Richard of Bristol, Richard Pur- 

* Cartulary, f. 12 a. f See the Appendix, p. xviii — xix. 



296 MANOR OF LACOCK. 

chas, Robert de le Lupegate, Matthew son of John the 
Carpenter, &c* 

Most of these transactions were probably anterior to 
the taxation of Pope Nicholas in 1291 ; when the pro- 
perty of the Abbey in Lacock was rated at £20. At the 
Survey of 1535 the yearly value f was estimated at 
£52. 14s. G\d. of which the particulars are as follow : 

£. s. d. 
Annual rent and value of 147 acres of arable 

land, in demesne . . . . . .424 

Rent of 133J acres of meadow and pasture, de- 
mesne ....... 

Fixed rents of all customary and other tenants 
True value of the tithes of the rectory of the 
parish, in common years, in all things belonging or 
relating to the rectory .... 

Perquisites of the courts, in ordinary years 
Sale of wood, in ordinary years 

£.52 14 6± 
" The site of the late Monastery of Lacock, with the 
parsonage and advowson of the vicarage, and all lands, 
tenements, rents, reversions and services, tithes, posses- 
sions, and hereditaments, in the towns, parishes, fields, 
and hamlets of Melksham and Calne," together with some 
tenements in Melksham, which were parcel of the late 
monastery of Ambresbury, were sold to Sir William She- 
rington, for the sum of £783. 12s. l|e?., of which the first 
payment of £243. 13s. \\d. was paid to the Treasurer of 
the Court of Augmentations, on the 19th Nov. 1544. % 

* Cartulary, ff. 17 a — 25 b, 29 a, 33 b, Appx. pp. xix — xxii. 

f The revenue accounted for by the King's ministers of 
1539 40 will be found in p. 334. 

X Receipts in the Augmentation Office, 35—36 Hen. VIII., 
f. lxxiiij. 



11 


2 6 


31 


3 0| 


, 6 








3 4 





3 4 



297 

PEDIGREE OF SHERINGTON. 

From the Visitation of Wiltshire, 1565. 

Arms . 1 and 4, Go. two crosses formees Or, each charged 
with a cross potent Sa. between two flaunches cheeky Arg. and 
Az, Sherington ,• 2. Az. a bend Arg.; 3. Party per pale in- 
dented Or and Azure six martlets Counterchanged ; impaling, 
Arg. a chevron Erm. between three talbots guttee. 

Crest. A scorpion in pale Or, tail in chief between two 
elephants' teeth, the upper part checquy Ar and Az. the bot- 
tom Gules and charged with a cross as in the arms. 

" Henry Sherington, of Sherington, in the p'ishe of Derham,* 

in the Com. of Norff. marid Elizabeth, daughter of [ 

Felton] and by her had yssue Reignold, sonn and heire, 
Thomas 2 sonn, John 3 sonn, Will'm 4 sonn, Margerett, Ka- 
therin, Mary, and Ann. 

Reignold Sherington in the said Com. married and dyed 
sanz yssue. 

Thomas Sherington, in the Cora, aforesaid, esqr. 2 sonn of 
Henry, and heire to his brother, married Elizabeth, dau. and 
heire of [blank] Framsham, in Com. Norff esqr. and by her 
had yssoe Thomas sonn and heire. 

Thomas Sherington, of Sherington, in the Com. aforesaid, 
[died about 1527] marid Katherin, daughter of William Pyr- 
ton, of Littell Bentley, in Com. Essex, esqr. and by her hath 
yssue S r Will'm Sherington, Knight, son and heire, Thomas c 2 
sonn, Henry 3 sonn, Elizabeth, Ann, Ursula, Oliva, Cescille, 
[married to Robert Southwell, esq. sergeant-at-]aw, both buried 

* Sharington, in Norfolk, is a distinct parish some miles 
from East Dereham. In the reign of Henry III. occurs Gre- 
gory de Sharenton, and Peter, who conveyed lands in that 
place to Oliva, daughter of Alan, son of Jordan. But in sub- 
sequent times the family were of Cranworth, also near East 
Dertham Ralph Sherington, esq. great-grandson of John, of 
Cranworth, married the daughter and sole heir of William de 
la Val, of Northumberland; and was father of Henry, who 
married Elizabeth Felton, the first in the Wiltshire pedigree 
above. Blomefield's History of Norfolk. 



298 PEDIGREE OF SHERINGTON. 

at Barham, Suffolk. Blomefield's Norfolk.] and others. Eli- 
zabeth, marid to Richard Hado'k, * of Ulchester; Ursula, first 
marid to Francis Hall, Comptroller of Calleys, after to John 
Banester, esq. ; Oliva, marid to James Paggett, of London, esqr. 

S r Will'm Sherington, of Lacock, in the Com. of Wilts, 
Knight, sonn and heire of Henry, marid to his first wife Ur- 
sula, dau. naturall to Bourchoire lord Barnes, and by her had 
no yssue. After hee marid to his 2 wife Elyanor, daughter 
of [Williamf] Walsingham, and by her had noe yssue. He 
marid to his 3 wife Grace, daughter of Farington, in 

Com. Devon, and widowe of Robert Paggett, of London, Alder- 
man, and dyed sanz yssue. }' [had issue Margaret, wife of Wil- 
liam Barnes, of London. Visit. 1623.] 

Thomas, 2 sonn of Thomas, dyed sanz yssue. 

Henry Sherington, of Lacock, in the Com. of Wiltes, esqr. § 
3 sonn of Thomas, marid Ann, daughter of Robert Paggett, of 
London, Alderman, and by her hath yssue Ursula, Grace, and 
Oliva now liveing. 

John Sherington, of JVIedborne, in Com. Wilts, 4 sonn of 
Thomas, marid Ann, dau. and heire of (blank) Kekwych, of 
Essex, and by her hath yssue Edward, sonn and heire, Olive 2 
sonn, one sonn more, and 4 daughters." 



Grace, the second daughter (abovementioned) of Sir Henry 
Sherington, was married to Sir Anthony Mildmay, of Apthorp, 
in Northamptonshire ; but had no issue ; so that the whole 
inheritance of Lacock came to her sister Oliva, the wife of 
John Talbot, Esq. of Salwarp, co. Worcester, fourth in de- 
scent from John the second Earl of Shrewsbury, from whom it 
has descended to the present Henry Fox Talbot, Esq. 

* Hudkin. Visit. 1623. f Ibid. 

% The monument of Sir William Sherington remains in La- 
cock church. It is large, and covered with sculptured orna- 
ments, but bears no inscription, except the name in gilt letters 
on the interior of its canopy. 

§ Sheriff' of Wiltshire 1567, Knighted 1574- (see p. 359). 



299 



RECTORY OF LACOCK. 

There is in the Cartulary of Lacock a document of a 
date preceding the foundation of the Abbey, relating to 
the advowson of Lacock Church. It is a covenant be- 
tween William Earl of Salisbury, and B. Bluet his neigh- 
bour, that each of them should have an alternate presenta- 
tion to the Church, and that neither of them should have 
the power of alienating the advowson.* This shows that 
the Church had been erected at the joint charge of the 
two lords of Lacock and Lackham. 

The advowson of the Church was included with the 
manor in the Countess Ela's foundation charter; but, 
before she obtained the license of the Bishop of the dio- 
cese for erecting the Abbey, she had been required to 
enter into a covenant with the Rector, (named John,) to 
respect in every particular the immunities of the parish 
church, f 

Roger de Bloet, the Persona whose name has occurred 
in p. 295, was probably the successor of John. In the 
year 1290, Nicholas Longespe, the last surviving son 
of the Foundress, and who in the next year became Bishop 
of Salisbury, was Rector of Lacock ; and then made a 
Composition % with the Abbess Juliana, respecting the 
third part of the tithes of her demesne lands, which he 
confirmed to the Nuns for the future, as they had before 
" received them from the time of their foundation." This 
document explains in what consisted the " Porcio Abba- 

* Cartulary, f. 10 a. Appendix, p. xv. 

f The substance of this covenant has been already recited 
in p. 183. 

% Printed at length in the Appendix, p. xxiii, being recited 
in the Bishop's confirmation. 



300 TAXATION OF THE NINTH IN 1341. 

tisse" which was rated at 10s. at Pope Nicholas's Taxa- 
tion in the following year ; at which same time the Rec- 
tory was rated at £]S. 6s. 8d., and the vicarage at £5. 

The interest of Bloet in the rectory seems to have been 
finally extinguished in 1311, when the whole was appro- 
priated to the Abbey.* 

In 1341, when the Ninth of corn, wool, and lambs, in 
every parish, was granted to the King, the following re- 
turn was made from Lacock : 

" The Presentation of Ralph Persones, William de Bove- 
doune, Richard atte Nayssche, and Andrew le Baker, pa- 
rishioners of the church of Lacock, made before Sir Robert 
Selyman and his associates, assessors and sellors of the Ninths 
of corn, wool, and lambs, in the county of Wiltes, sitting at 
Malmesbury on Friday before the feast of St. Gregory, 
15 Edw. III. (March 9, 1341,) declared— That the present 
Ninth of corn, wool, and lambs, granted to the King, of the 
church of Lacock, was in the year last past worth ^9 ; and no 
more, because the Parson of the Church had there a messuage 
and a carucate of land worth 40s. a year, a pasture for oxen 
worth 8s. a year, the parsonage meadow worth 20s. a year, 
the tithe of hay worth 10s. a year, three mills worth 21s. a 
year, oblations, obventions, heriots, and small tithes worth 
66s. Sd. a year. There was no foreigner in the parish from 
whom the fifteenth could be levied, nor any benefice besides 
the parish church." 

By a supplementary return made at New Sarum, on Thurs- 
day after the feast of the Ascension, the same jury swore that 
" the Ninth (as before) was worth ^9 ; and the ninth due to the 
Abbess of Lacock was worth 50s." 

* Pat. 4 Edw. II. p. 2, m. 22, « pro eccl. S. Cyriaci apud 
Lacoc perquirenda a Joanne Bloet, et approprianda." The 
yearly alms founded by Sir John on the same occasion, has 
been already mentioned in p. 288. There was afterwards, for 
some time, a chapel at Lackham $ see the Appendix, p. xxv. 
and Wiltshire institutions, under 1349, and 1352. 



VICARS OF LACOCK. 301 

At the Valor of 1535 Richard Burton the Vicar returned 
the profits of his Vicarage at £9. Is. 4d. ; from which 
were paid for procurations and synodals 13s. 9d. and 
Ss. 9d. an annual pension to the Abbess of Lacock — (who, 
as shown in her return, p. 286, paid him an annual pen- 
sion of £\). 

The first " Perpetual Vicar " on record is John de 
Schryvenham, the first witness to the Composition of 
Nicholas Longespe, the Rector, in 1290. His successors 
have been somewhat imperfectly collected from the 
Bishops' Registers.* 

Vicars of Lacock. 
1290 John de Schryvenham. 
1318 Nicholas Skarpenham. 
1342 Roger Baalon; died 1348. 
1348 Thomas Bourle. 
1361 Stephan de Cosham. 
1376 John Gemon. 

Walter Dene, died 1400. 

1400 John Smyth. 

1401 Roger atte Hurne. 
Nicholas Welde. 

1408 William Stephanus, vice Welde. 

Thomas Bertwaye, vice Stevenes; resigned 1431. 

1431 Thomas Goldebury, vice Bretewex ; res. 1445. j- 
1445 John Harvy ; deprived 1452. 

1452 Thomas Appulby, vice Hervy • died 1453. 

1453 William Aylward. 

1490 Robert Wykes (Rector of Whaddon, Wilts, I486,) 

resigned 1508. 
1508 Walter Benett, (or Jenett,) res. 1521. 
1521 Richard Burton. 

John Milner, ob. 1560. 

* As printed by Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart, 
t In 1453 Thomas Golbury, late Vicar, had a pension of 
five marks yearly. Institutiones, p. 144. 



302 VICARS OF LACOCK. 

1560 Ralph Bicroft (or Rycrofte) presented by Henry She- 
ryngton, esq. died 1575. 

1575 Robert Temple, res. 1576. 

1576 Thomas Wodland. 

1580 William Gibson, deprived 1582. 

1582 Thomas Prest, presented by Edm. Pyrton, esq. by grant 
of Anne, widow of Sir H. Sherington. 

15- • John Forrest, res. 1592. 

1592 Richard Rocke, pres. by Edm. Cooper, by grant of the 
same Anne ; died 1616. 

1616 Robert Stapleton, pres. by Dame Oliva Sherington, 
widow, of Lacock. 

16- • John Barnes, d. 1676. 

1676 Isaac Sympson, pres. by Sherington Talbot, esq. ; d. 1684. 

1684 Thomas Hughes, pres. by Sir John Talbot. 

168- William Wootton ; res. 1689. 

1689 Mathew Tate, pres. by Sir John Talbot ; res. 1707. 

1707 Richard Sadlington, pres by Sir John Talbot j d. 1734. 

1734 John Taylor, jun. pres. by John Talbot, esq. j res. 1747- 

1747 Thomas Monro, pres. by John Talbot, esq. ; res. 1753. 

1753 Richard Goddard, pres. by the Bishop, from lapse; res. 
1758. 

1758 William Atkinson, pres. by John Talbot, esq. ; presented 
by Dean and Chapter of Sarum to the vicarage of 
Sutton Benger, 1744 ; died March 30, 1765, retaining 
both livings to his death. 

1765 Edward Popham, D.D. pres. by John Talbot, esq. ; a 
younger son of Edward Popham, esq. of Littlecot, 
M.P. for Wilts, He was also Rector of Chilton Foliot, 
where he resided, and died Sept. 16, 1815. He edited 
Selecta Poemata Anglorum Latina 1774, and Jllus- 
trium Virorum Elogia Sepulchralia, 1798. See Me- 
moirs of him in the Gentleman's Magazine, lxxxv. ii. 
377, lxxxvi. i. 190. 

1814 James Paley, B.A. son of Archdeacon Paley, presented 
by the Marquis of Lansdowne, trustee for H. F. 
Talbot, then a minor. Present Vicar 1835. 

The Parish Register commences in 1559. 



ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 803 



NOTTON, co. Wilts. 



Notton is a hamlet adjoining Lacock^ at present the 
estate and mansion of my early and respected friend John 
Awdry, Esq. 

The Nuns acquired their estate here in 1303, when 
Robert de Bardeneye, having first obtained the royal li- 
cence/* in order to obviate the prohibitions of the statute 
of mortmain, transferred to them two virgates and a half 
of land in Natton, for which the Abbess Johanna gave 
him forty marks of silver, f paying at the same time to 
the King a fine of 26s. 8d. for license to enter upon a lay 
fee.J A minor interest in these lands was quit-claimed 
to the Nuns by William son of Thomas de la Chambre., 
of Natton, being a rent of 5s. jd. and a pound of cummin. § 
Other interests at Notton were purchased by the Nuns of 
Jordan de Heydon, Isabella daughter of Robert Burel, 
William her son, and Hugh de Lacock, clerk. || The place 
is not mentioned distinctly from Lacock in the Surveys. 

HATHEROP, co. Gloucester. 

The manor of Hatherop,, near Fairford, probably came 
to the house of Salisbury as the dower of Sibella Cha- 
worth, the great-grandmother of Ela.^f It was given by 

* The charter of King Edward I. is printed in the Appen- 
dix, p. xxiv. f Ibid. p. xxv. 

% Gross.* fin. 32 Edw. I. Abbr. Rot. Orig. i. 132. 

§ Cartulary, f. 42 a. Appx. p. xxvi. || Ibid. pp. xiv. xxi. 

IT The name of Chaworth, not mentioned by Atkins or Fos- 
broke in their Histories of Gloucestershire, occurs in the ac- 
count of Hatherop given in that by Bigland. Fosbroke says 



304 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

Earl William Longespe to his foundation of Carthusians, 
and was for some years their place of habitation ; but, on 
their removal to Hinton in Somersetshire, was resumed 
by the Countess Ela,* who shortly after made it part of 
her endowment of the Abbey of Lacock. 

In the earliest day of its new appropriation, and whilst 
Lacock had not as yet received the pious Ela as its first 
Abbess,f a convention was made between the Prioress 
Wymerca, and Hugh Abbat of Cirencester, relative to the 
suits of court of the men of Hatherop. It was agreed 
that the bailiffs of the Abbat should come only twice a 
year to Hatherop to make view of frank pledge in the 
court of the Prioress, namely, about the feast of St. Mar- 
tin, and about Hockeday ; % at which all the men of the 
liberty were to attend, and give each time to the xAbbat 
thirty pence, whether the court were amerced or not, and 
the amerciaments which arose from the said view, were 
to remain with the Prioress. Any robber or stolen pro- 
perty taken were to be carried to the prison of the Abbat. 

the manor was conveyed to Ela Countess of Salisbury by In- 
geram le Waleys ; but this circumstance probably belongs only 
to the second estate granted to the Nuns by the Countess of 
Warwick (and mentioned hereafter), as we know one manor 
belonged to the Salisbury family as early as the time of Earl 
William, when he endowed his Carthusians. 

* See the particulars of this exchange, already stated in 
pp. 172 — 174, antea. 

f This is clear, because Hugh Abbat of Cirencester died in 
1238, and Ela was not consecrated " in primam Abbatissam " 
(see the Appendix, p. xxviii) until 1240. 

X Hock-day was a fortnight after Easter : on the etymology 
of the name there are many opinions ; but it was a usual sea- 
son for courts of inquest, and the payment of money. 



MANOR OF HATHEROP. 305 

The covenant then proceeds to direct the appropriation of 
the fines in several other contingencies, the particulars of 
which may be seen by consulting the original document 
in the Appendix. * 

In 1236 Hugelina, widow of Randulf de Landebroil, 
quit-claimed to the Nuns the third part of a hyde of land 
at Hetherop, for which quit-claim they gave her forty shil- 
lings, t 

In the year 1246, Ela Countess of Warwick, whose 
dower appears to have been secured on the manor of 
Hatherop probably among others), acknowledged before 
the King's justices at Walton that this manor was the 
right of the Abbess and Convent of Lacock ; for which 
recognizance the x\bbess, (her mother the Lady Ela,) 
granted the same to the Countess for life, to be held by 
the rent of 100c*. paid yearly to herself and her successors. 
For this grant the Countess of Warwick released to the 
Abbess her title in £20 land which she had previously 
held of her brother William Longespe, at Chittern in 
Wiltshire. J 

This arrangement continued for nearly forty years ; 
when, in 12S4, proceedings were commenced for the 
Countess's relinquishing her life interest in this estate, 
then described as a messuage and twelve vir^ates. On 
application to the Crown for the licence rendered neces- 
sary by the statute of mortmain, a writ for an inquisition 
ad quod damnum was issued; the jury on which returned 
as their verdict, that the Crown would lose jurymen, fines 
for murder when the hundred was amerced, and suit of 



* See the Appendix, p. xxxvii, f Ibid. p. xxxix. 

X Cartulary, f. 105 b. ; Appendix, p. xl. 



306 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

that court. *• After this, the royal licence was issued, f 
Finally, in 1287, the Countess quit-claimed to the Nuns 
her whole title in this manor; and they bound themselves 
to pay her, in lieu, the yearly sum of £20 sterling, under 
a penalty of £10 of silver in aid of the Holy Land for 
every term not observed.^ 

By another charter the Countess gave the Nuns all the 
lands she had purchased of Sir Ingeram le Waleys in the 
vill of Hatherop, with all the villains thereon, and their 
sequela, the fields, pastures, roads, paths, &c.§ 

At the taxation of Pope Nicholas, in 1291, the return 
of the property of the Abbess of Lacock at Hatherop 
was made up of the following particulars : 





£. s. 


d. 


One carucate of land, worth 


. 1 





Fixed rents . 


. 12 





Store . 


. 10 






£.2 2 

The sum was thus small, doubtless in consequence of 
the annuity of £20 being still payable to the Countess of 
Warwick, who we know lived until 1297- 1| 

At the Inquisition of the ninths, in 1341, when the ninth 
of corn, wool, and lambs in the whole parish of Hatherop 

* Inq. ad q. d. 11 Edw. I. no. 92, and 12 Edw. I. no. 71, as 
cited in Fosbroke's Gloucestershire, ii. 451. 

f See it printed from the Cartulary in the Appendix, p. xl. 

% Ibid. p. xxxix. $ Ibid. 

|| See before, p. 162. In the same page it was stated that 
the Countess visited Lacock in 1287, because the charter 
above noticed, releasing the manor, is dated there ; but, as it 
was probably bipartite, it was perhaps only the part executed 
by the Convent which bore date at Lacock. 



MANOR OF HATHEROP. 307 

was found to be £9. 6s. Sd., that of those of the Abbess 
of Lacock, part of the same, was worth 63s. Id.* 

In the reign of Edward the Thirds the family of Handlo 
were the tenants here ; and afterwards Margaret, wife of 
John de Appulby, daughter and heiress of Richard de 
Handlo, succeeded, f The Abbess had further confirma- 
tion in 1412. X 

The church of Hatherop seems to have been given to 
the abbey of Gloucester by Ernulphus de Hesdyng, the 
Domesday lord ; § there were both a rector and vicar be- 
fore 1291; || but the party by whom the patronage was 
exercised, does not appear, as the institutions have not 
been published. However, a pension of 6s. 8d. from the 
rectory was paid to the Abbess of Lacock, as returned by 
James Watson, the incumbent, at the Ecclesiastical Sur- 
vey of 1535. 

At the same time the following return was made of the 
temporal possessions of the Abbess of Lacock at Ha- 
therop : 

£. s. d. 

Rent of all demesne lands, meadows, and pastures, 
let to John Spencer senior . . . .900 

Fixed rents of all tenants, whether free or cus- 
tomary . . . . . . . .964 

s£.18 6 4 

In the account of the King's ministers, in 1540-41, 
after the surrender, we find the more particular account 
which is subjoined : 



* Nonarum Inquis. p. 410. 

f Several records cited by Fosbroke, ii. 451. 

+ Pat. 13 Henry IV. § Dugdale's Monasticon, i. 116. 

|| Taxatio P. Nich. 

x2 



308 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

£. s. d. 

Hatheruppe, fixed rents . . . 15 

rents of customary tenants .4102 

rents of tenants at will . .242 

farm of the manor . .900 

Oldegore, rent of lands and tenements* . 1 10 
Hatheruppe, pension from the rectory .068 
perquisites of court . .0194 

a£.19 5 4 
This manor, with the pension from the rectory, was in 
1548 sold to Sir William Sherington the purchaser of La- 
cock, for and 37s. \0%d. reserved rent. He also 
purchased an estate in this parish which had belonged to 
the Priory of Bradenstoke ; and afterwards sold both to 
John Blomer, esq. 



WOODMANCOTE, co. Gloucester. 

This estate was in the parish of North Cerney, about 
ten miles from Hatherop ; and it was given by Constancia 
de Legh, to God and St. Mary, in co-operation of the 
pious design of the Countess Ela, to found in the town 
of Lacock an Abbey to be called the Locus Beatje 
Marine, f She also gave the Nuns her rent of Cal-- 
mundesden, another hamlet of North Cerney, being 35s. 
yearly paid her by the Hospitallers of Jerusalem. J 

This lady, who in one of the charters is styled u widow," 

* " belonging to the late house of St. John of Jerusalem." 
The name of Old Gore has occurred in only one other docu- 
ment relative to the Abbey, namely, among the remittances 
of chief rent mentioned in the Valor (see p. 286). 

f Cartulary, f. 107 b. Appendix, p. xli. 

X Ibid. f. 106 b. Appendix, p. xli. 



MANOR OF WOODMANCOTE. 309 

was evidently a member of the family of de Mare, who 
were lords of the manor of the Legh in Wiltshire,* near 
Malmesbury, and consequently in some instances used 
that surname. Calmsden had been given to the Knights 
Hospitallers by Mabil de Mare, wife of William de Legh.f 
It is remarkable that the seal of Constantia de Lega 
is among those engraved in Madox's Formulare Angli- 
canum, although no document respecting her has been 
discovered therein, or in any other place but the Cartulary 
of Lacock. The seal is oval, and represents her holding 
a species of sceptre, or fleur-de-lis slipped, in her right 
hand, and a hawk on her left ; proving her to have been 
a person of rank. J 

William de Mare, of Rendcombe, remitted to the Con- 
vent of Lacock, for seventeen marks sterling, the homage, 
fealty, heriot, tallages belonging to him, the aids of 
ploughing, sowing, harrowing, weeding, mowing, and 
carrying, and all escheats, and suits of all courts belong- 
ing to him and his heirs ; except the suit to the view of 
frank pledge of the Earl of Gloucester, to be made twice 
a year at Rendcombe. He remitted also to them all dis- 
traints, whether to make his eldest son a knight, or to the 
marriage of his eldest daughter, every scutage and mili- 
tary service, and an annual rent of sixpence, and every 
other demand which by any accident could be made upon 
the manor of Woodmancote 5 and the same to the tenants 
of the Abbess and the villains in the said manor. § 

* Testa de Nevill, pp. 137, 156. 

f Dugdale's Monasticon, ii. 549. 

X Henry de Mara is mentioned in the will of the second 
William Longespe as the principal farmer of his estates (see 
the Addenda) : this testifies the connection between the 
families. 

§ Cartulary, f. 107 a, Appendix, p. xli. 



310 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

Nicholas de Mare, Rector of the church of Thocles- 
thorn, remitted to the Nuns of Lacock all the title he had 
in two carucates of land, and 21 5. rent in Woodmancote ; 
and Walter, called the son of the chaplain of Egesworth, 
remitted to them all his lands there. Other smaller gifts 
or purchases in this place, from Ralph de Maurathin, or 
Mauyrdin, Agnes his widow, Gilbert de Henleie, and 
Henry Peverel, are recorded by their deeds in the Cartu- 
lary. * 

At the taxation of Pope Nicholas, in 1291, the pro- 
perty of the Abbey at Cerney is thus described : 



Fixed rents 

One carucate of land 

Store 



£. 


s. 


d, 


. 


17 





. 1 


10 





. 1 


4 





£S 


11 






In 1310, Thomas de Cockleberghe and John de Men- 
streworth applied for licence to give to the Nuns a mes- 
suage, 36 acres, and lis. rent in Woodmancote, previ- 
ously held of the Abbess by 12 d. per ann. ; f and three 
years after the Abbess paid to the King a fine of 30s. for 
licence to enter this lay fee. % 

In 1454, Willelma wife of John Blount held a mes- 
suage and virgate in Woodmancote of the Abbess of La- 
cock, and left John her son and heir, § who died in 1468 
seised of a messuage and carucate containing 60 acres of 
land, and 2 of meadow, held of the Abbess, and left 
Simon his son and heir. || 

* See the Appendix, pp. xli, xlii. 

t Inq. ad quod damn. 3 Edw. II. no. 75. 

\ Abbr. Rot. Orig. i. 199. § Esc. 32 Hen. VI. 

II Esc. 8 Edw. IV. 



MANOR OT BISHOPSTROW. 311 

At the Survey of 1535 another name appears : 

£. s. d. 
Rent of all lands and tenements, with other profits 

of the same, let to farm to Edmund Thame, esq. .568 

The same amount of rent was received by the King's 
ministers after the surrender, and these lands were after- 
wards sold to Giles Poole for and 8$. 4d. reserved 
rent, f 

BISHOPSTROW, co. Wilts. 

Bishopstrow is in the hundred of Warminster, a mile 
and a half from that town, and about eighteen miles from 
Lacock. At the Domesday Survey it was held in de- 
mesne by Edward of Salisbury. He gave part of it, 
in marriage with his daughter, to Humphrey de Bohun ; 
who, on founding his priory of Monkton Farley, f endowed 
it with the church of Bishopstrow ; and his wife Matilda, 
of her own gift, bestowed a hide of land in the same place ; 
both of which remained the property of Farley Priory 
until the dissolution. 

The chief interest at Bishopstrow continued, however, 
to descend in the family of Salisbury, until the Countess 
Ela founded her Abbey at Lacock; when the simple 
words of her charter, " manerium de Bissopestre cum om- 
nibus pertinenciis suis" I were sufficient to confer the 
whole lordship to the Nuns. 

At an early period they also acquired the mill of Bishop- 
strow ; respecting which there are five documents in the 
Cartulary : 1 . a grant from Adam Sweyn of his land and 
the moiety of the mill, for which the Abbess Beatrice gave 

* Pat. 39 (?) Hen. VIII. Fosbroke's Glouc. ii. 510. 
f See before, p. 57. j See the Appendix, p. ix. 



312 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

him six marks and a half; 2. the remission, in 1259, from 
Anastasia, widow of Helias of Bissopestre, of her part of 
the mill; 3. the like, in the same year, from William de 
Smalebrok ; 4. the gift of two acres of land in Bissopestre 
from Edward son of Adam Serle ; 5. the remission of 
Emma, wife of Elias Burgeys of Warminster, of her claim 
in the mill, and in a messuage in Bissopestre, for which 
remission the Nuns gave her 405.* Agnes Waspayl also 
gave the convent, among other lands, an acre on the south 
side of the church of St. Adelm of Bissopestre.f 

At the taxation of Pope Nicholas IV. about 1291, the 
manor of Bishopestre was rated at £11. 7^» It is thus 
mentioned in the Testa de Nevill : " Abbatissa de Lacock 
tenet de Com' Sarum villam de Biscopstre, in pura ele- 
mosina, de novo feoffamento, et ipse de Rege de honore 
de Trobrigg/' From the Hundred Rolls (3 Edw. I.) we 
further learn that it was estimated as half a knight's fee ; X 
and the Abbess held there the assize of bread and ale. § 

On the inquisition of the Ninths of corn, fleeces, and 
lambs, taken in 1341, the ninth of those of the Abbess of 
Lacock in Bishopstrow was valued at the sum of 435. 2d.\\ 

At the general Ecclesiastical Valuation of 1535 the fol- 
lowing return was made of the conventual property at 
Bishopstrow : 



* Cartulary, ff. 67 a.— 68 b. Appendix, p. xxxi. f Ibid. 

+ " Henr. de Lacy tenet dimid. feod. milit. de R. in cap. in 
Bissopstre, et Abbatissa de Lakoc tenet dictum dimidium de 
Henrico." Rot. Hund. vol. ii. p. 276. 

§ Ibid. p. 277. || Nonarum Inq. p. 169. 



MANOR OF BISHOPSTROW. 313 

sg. s. d. 
Rent of all the demesne lands, meadows, and 

pastures, let to Robert Bathe, by indenture, sealed 

with the common seal 6 13 4 

Rent of the farm of the pasture of the Abbess's 
sheep there, let to Robert Bathe . . 2 13 4 

Fixed rents of all tenants, whether free or cus- 
tomary, of the said manor * . . . 14 19 3 

Perquisites of the courts held there in ordinary 
years 10 

j£\24 6 11 

It has been already noticed, that Robert Bathe was 
brother-in-law to Johanna Temys, the last Abbess. The 
lease mentioned in this return, sealed with the conventual 
seal, is still existing among the title-deeds of William 
Temple, esq. the present owner of Bishopstrow. It is 
dated in the same year, 1534; and is for a term of 99 
years, to Robert a'Bathe and Elizabeth his wife. It was 
assigned, in the 30th Elizabeth, by Clement a'Bathe to his 
son Richard ; and in the 34th Elizabeth by Clement and 
Richard to Jeffrey Hawkins, of Bishopstrow, clothier. 

In 32 Hen. VIII. the Ministers of the King rendered 
the following account of the annual revenue from the pos- 
sessions of the late abbey in Bishopstrow and Trowbridge : 

£. s. d. 
Fixed rents . . . . ,241 

Rents of customary tenants . .546 

Rents of tenants at will . . .220 

Farm of the manor of Bishopstrow 16 13 

Rents of tenants in Trowbridge . 8 

Perquisites of court at Bishopstrow 12 3 



e£.27 13 10 
In 1544, this estate (subject to the lease to Bathe) was 
sold to Thomas Temys, gentleman, the brother of the last 



314 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

Abbess, for the sum of £505. 17$. 6d., being described as 
" the mannor of Busshopestrowe with the appurtenances, 
and cccxx sheepe-lettons within the said manor ; together 
with the wood growing in and upon the premises." The 
first payment of £250 was made to the Treasurer of the 
Court of Augmentations, Nov. 11, 1544, and payment 
was made in full, Sept. 24, 1546.* In 1550 the purchase 
was confirmed by letters patent under the great seal, 
whereby a grant was made to Thomas Temys, and Eliza- 
beth his wife, of : 1. the whole manor of Busshopstrowe ; 
2. the wood called Hillwood, containing seven acres, in 
Bishopstrow ; 3. the heath and sheep-walk, and another 
pasture, called Whight Belles and Hencottes, a cottage 
called Palmers, a cottage and curtilage called Shepherd's 
Tenement ; 4. the mills called Fullinge Mill, Gygge Mill, 
and Griste Mill, and five acres of land in Bishopstrow 
marsh; and 5. the stock of 320 sheep called u whethers." 
The clear annual value of the whole was then estimated 
at £26. 10s. 3d. before deducting the tithe; and it was 
held by the service of the fortieth part of a knight's fee, 
and the yearly rent of 53s. Ojd. to the Court of Augmen- 
tations, payable by the name of the tenth part thereof.f 

In 1578 the manor of Bishopstrow was sold by John 
Temys to John Middlecot, and Henry Temys was a wit- 
ness to the deed of sale. Its subsequent descent will be 
found in Sir R. C. Hoare's History of Wiltshire. 

* Receipts in the Augmentation Office, 36 — 37 Hen. VIII. 
f. lxiiij b, and 38 Hen. VIII. f. lxx. 

f Letters Patent, May 1, 4 Edvv. IV. printed at length in 
Hoare's Hundred of Warminster, pp. 70—72. 



MANOR OF HEDDINGTON. 315 



HEDDINGTON, co. Wilts. 

Heddington is in the hundred of Calne, about five miles 
from Lacock. It is surveyed in Domesday Book among 
the lands of Edward of Salisbury. 

It was a mediety of this manor that was conferred on 
the Abbey by the original endowment of the Countess 
Ela ; to which gift her son William Longespe gave his 
consent by a special charter, she releasing to him at the 
same time an exchange of land in Hatherop, to be made 
to the Prior and canons of Bradenstoke (who had proba- 
bly before some interest at Heddington), and also a rent 
of £10, from Seperige and Heanton .* 

John de Ripariis, by his charter, made known to his 
men of Hedinton, whether free tenants or those in vile- 
nage, that he had given to the Nuns of Lacock, all his 
land and rent in Hedyngton, for the support of tivo chap- 
lains singing for the faithful defunct to the end of time, f 

Michael de Cheldrinton gave them a virgate of land in 
Hedyngton, for which the Abbess Ela gave him twenty- 
four marks of silver. John Pie gave them for 10s. a marl- 
pit ; and Ralph Angens gave them all the land he had 
in this manor. J 

At the taxation of Pope Nicholas, in 1291, the Con- 
vent's estate at Hedyngton was rated at £13. 19s. 2\d. ; 
and the revenue remained the same at the Valor of 1535, 
being then described under the following items : 



* Cartulary, f. 76 a. Appendix, p. xxxii. 

t Ibid. % Ibid. p. xxxiii. 



316 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

eS. s. d. 

Annual rent of all demesne lands, meadows, and 

pastures, let to John Oldffyld, under the Convent seal 5 6 8 

Fixed rent of all tenants, whether free or cus- 
tomary 8 11 0% 

Perquisites of courts in ordinary years i .016 



£. 


s. 


d. 


. 


6 





. 9 15 2»\ 


. 2 








. 8 


6 


8 


. 





Vi 



e£.13 19 21 

The Ministers' return of 31 Hen. VIII. furnishes a 
different account, the name of Amesbury being con- 
nected with Heddington, as follows : 

. Hedington, fixed rents 

rents of customary tenants 

Amesbury, fixed rent . . 
Hedington, farm of the manor 
perquisites of court 

^.20 8 7 



SHREWTON, co. Wilts. 

At the time when this place was first connected with 
the Abbey of Lacock, it went by the name of Winter- 
bourn Syreveton; but after a time the first word was 
dropped, and the latter was abbreviated to Shrewton, by 
which the place is now known. It is situated in the hun- 
dred of Branch and Dole ; and the adjoining parish was 
called Winterbourn Maddington, though now Madding- 
ton only. At a very short distance are Winterbourn 
Stoke, and Winterbourn Parva, or Asserton ; and, indeed, 
among the downs of Wiltshire and Dorsetshire, this name, 
derived from the occasional streams which appear only in 
the winter season, occurs as frequently as that of Roding, 
or Roothing, in Essex. 



MANOR OF SHREWTON. 317 

Among the Wiltshire manors of Edward of Salisbury, 
surveyed in Domesday Book, are four Winterbourns, be- 
side Winterbourn Stoke. It would therefore be difficult 
to say which of them is the present Shrewton ; though 
there can be little doubt that the latter name was derived 
from the place having belonged to Edward and his de- 
scendents, the hereditary Sheriffs of Wiltshire, and there- 
fore called the Sheriff's, or Syreve-ton. There is also a 
Shreveton in Dorsetshire, now called Shrowton, alias 
Ewern Courtenay. 

In her original endowment of the Abbey of Lacock, the 
Countess Ela included the advowson of Winterbourn Sy- 
reveton. The ordination of the church was settled in 1241 
by Bishop Bingham; who, after very long and ample 
compliments to Ela, who had then assumed the office of 
Abbess, ordained that, on the death or cession of Hosbert, 
then Rector, the tithe of corn of the whole parish, the de- 
mesne fields and chief manse of the church (which, how- 
ever, was to be held by the Vicar until another was pro- 
vided for him,) should be appropriated to the uses of the 
abbey ; the rest of the fruits being reserved to the Vicar ; 
and the patronage of the vicarage reserved to the Bishop- 
ric (in which it has ever since continued). During the 
life of the Rector Osbert, he was to pay the Abbey the 
sum of two marks, under the name of pension of his 
church; which Hosbert confirmed by a charter of his 
own. f 

By two other charters the Nuns received a tenement 
at Winterbourn Syreveton from Ivo the merchant ; and a 
rent of 20s. from Hugh Burgonensis. J 

* See the charter in the Appendix, p. xxviii. 
t Appendix, p. xxx. + Ibid. 



318 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

At the taxation of Pope Nicholas, made about 1291, 
the Abbess of Lacock was returned to have temporal pro- 
perty at Shrewton to the value of £l ; and the church 
(the appropriation of which is not mentioned) was rated 
at £8. At the Survey of 1535 the following return was 
made: 

J0. s. d. 

Rent of all lands, meadows, and pastures, let to 

James Wheler 13 4 

Rent of the farm of the rectory,* let to James 
Downe 6 13 4 



£.1 6 8 
In the Ministers^ accounts of 1539-40 the former rent 
is the same ; but the farm of the rectory is advanced to 
£8. 6s. 8d. 



SHOREWELL, isle of Wight. 

Amicia Countess of Devon, and lady of the Isle of 
Wight, in her widowhood, gave, with her heart, f to the 
Nuns of Lacock, her whole manor of Shorewell, with all 
its appurtenance, and all the men dwelling thereon, with 
their sequela. She also granted it as disafforested land, 
therefore free from any claim as for forest or warren. % 
The gift was confirmed by her daughter, Isabella de For- 
tibus, Countess of Albemarle and Devon ; who also re- 
mitted to the Nuns the suit of court, ward, and relief, 
which was due to her from Shorewell; and by another 
charter granted that the Nuns should have all the fines of 

* At the same time the clear value of the vicarage of Shrew- 
ton was s£7. Os. 2c?. 

f See before, p. 279. J Cartulary, f. 128 b. 



MANOR OF SHOREWELL. 319 

the men of the manor, whenever it had happened they 
were fined in her court of Newport 5 only they were to 
attend the hundred-court of West Medina, at Carisbrook, 
twice in the year. * 

At the compilation of Testa de Nevill, early in the reign 
of Edward I. it was returned that the Abbess of Lacock 
held in chief of the Countess Isabella one fee, of which 
she kept in demesne the manor of Shorwell, and one vir- 
gate of land in Walpan was then held by the chaplains 
of Burton. 

That portion of the Abbess's privileges at Shorewell, 
which consisted in suit of court, appears to have been in- 
volved in frequent litigation. In the rolls of Parliament 
of 1347 is a petition of the Abbess, praying the restora- 
tion of the amerciaments of the men of the manor in the 
court of Newport, which had been taken by the King's 
officers : it was referred to the Chancellor.f The per- 
quisites were probably thereupon restored; but in the 
reign of Henry the Seventh they were again abstracted, in 
consequence of an. inquisition held Nov. 3, 1508, pursuant 
to a royal commission, the verdict of which declared that 
the Abbess, who died in 1483, had held the manor of King 
Edward IV. by military service, but that Margery of Glou- 
cester, her successor, had taken possession of the manor, 
and had held it until the taking of the inquisition, without 
having received the legal restitution out of the King's 
hands, requisite for lands held by that tenure. 

In consequence it appears to have been taken into the 
hands of the Crown, and withheld from the Abbey for 



* Cartulary, f. 129 b.; see the stipulations more at length 
in the Appendix, p. xlv. 

f Rotuli Pari. vol. ii. p. 182. 



320 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

more than seven years ; when Joanna Temys, the last 
Abbess, brought forward her plea in Chancery, stating 
that the House and Church of Lacock were of the founda- 
tion of our Lord the King, by reason of his Duchy of Lan- 
caster,* and that her predecessor, who died in 22 Edw. IV. 
was seised of the manor in her own demesne, as of fee, 
in right of her House and Church, and held it of the heirs 
of Amicia Countess of Devon, and lady of the Isle of 
Wight, in free, pure, and perpetual alms. The King's 
counsel claimed the patronage of the Abbey for the King, 
as in right of the Crown, and not as of the Duchy of Lan- 
caster, and defended the verdict of the inquisition of 1508 : 
but at length the cause was finally settled in the court of 
Chancery at Westminster, on the 2d of June 1516, and 
the claims of the Abbess fully confirmed. 

At the taxation of Pope Nicholas, about 1291, the Ab- 
bess's manor of Shorewell was rated as of £17 yearly 
value; the inquisition of 1508 stated it was then worth 
£16 yearly beyond reprisals; and by the Ministers' ac- 
counts, after the dissolution, it is shown to be then let 
for the same sum to Thomas Temys and his assigns for a 
term of 80 years, by a lease from the Abbess his sister, 
dated 3 Sept. 21 Hen. VIII. 

The cartulary contains several quit-claims to the Nuns 
from their tenants at Shorewell, to which a general refer- 
ence is sufficient in this place, f 

In a Survey of the Isle of Wight, taken in the 2d Eliz. 

* The representation of the Foundress of Lacock was con- 
sidered to have descended through the Lacies to the Earls and 
Dukes of Lancaster (see the Pedigree at p. 149), and so to the 
Crown, which thus became the hereditary Founder, or Patron. 

t Cartulary, ff. 128 a, 128 b, 131 a, 132 a. App. p. xliv, xlvi. 



MANOR OF CHITTERN. 321 

ShoreWell was found to be in the possession of Thomas 
Temes, esq. At the latter end of the same reign it was 
purchased by Sir John Legh. * 

CHITTERN, co. Wilts. 

At the period of the Domesday Survey there were two 
manors at " Chetre," which had belonged to distinct 
Saxon proprietors, but were then held in demesne by Ed- 
ward of Salisbury. They are situated in the hundred of 
Heytesbury, adjoining to Shrewton already noticed, and 
have since become the parishes of Chittern All Saints, or 
Upper Chittern, and Chittern St. Mary. Though now 
two distinct parishes, they form (says Sir R. C. Hoare) 
but one manor or lordship, which belongs to Paul Me- 
thuen, Esq. of Cor sham. 

The monks of Bradenstoke had possessions in Chittern 
All Saints, of the gift of several members of the house of 
Salisbury ; but the Nuns of Lacock had the largest manor 
there, and it was, indeed, their principal estate, being of 
greater value than that at Lacock itself. 

Their first acquisition in this place appears to have been 
by the arrangement which the Foundress made with her 
daughter, Ela Countess of Warwick, in the year 1246* ; 
when, in return for a life-interest in the manor of Ha- 
therop (as already noticed under that head), that lady 
released to the Abbey of Lacock, land of £20 yearly 
value in Chittern, which her mother, or brother, had pre- 
viously given her in dower on her marriage. 

Two years after, William Longespe Avas induced to 
confer on his mother's foundation " the whole land of 

* Worsley's History of the Isle of Wight. 
Y 



322 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

Cettre/' excepting only the knight's fees, with their ser- 
vices, one virgate of land, and half an acre of meadow, 
and the whole land of Ela Countess of Warwick, (which, 
under the preceding arrangement, was already in their 
possession). 

This grant of William Longespe received a confirmation 
from King Henry the Third in 1247;* and nine years 
after another royal charter gave the Nuns a market, a 
fair, and free warren at Chittern. f 

The virgate of land mentioned in William Longespe's 
charter seems to have been shortly after relinquished to 
the Nuns by Alicia de Cettre ; and perhaps it was the 
same Alicia (then called de Cormailes) who also released 
to them a rent of cheese which was due to her in the 
manor of Chittern. In the same manner Walter the 
Falconer released to them an annual cart-load of boughs, 
which were due to him from their wood of Chicklade, in 
right of the tenement he held of them in Chittern. By 
another charter, the Abbess Ela, and her Convent, re- 
leased to John Falconer the service he owed them for 
three virgates of land in Chittern, namely, one sparrow- 
hawk and one falcon; instead of which he was to pay 
them yearly half a mark of silver. By another covenant 
he resigned to them his title to five acres in the east field 
of Chittern, for which they gave him four marks and a 
half of silver, four quarters of wheat, and five quarters of 
barley. 

Three other charters in the cartulary, relating to Chit- 
tern, (and one of which furnishes the name of the Abbess 
Juliana,) belong to the year 1289, and record the purchase 



* Cartulary, f. 43 b. Rot. Cart. 32 Hen. III. m. 3. 
t Rot Cart. 41 Hen. III. m. 9. 



MANOR OF CH1TTERN. 323 

from William de Horton, Margaret widow of Edmund le 
Rous of Beremham, and Matilda widow of John de Mer- 
weden, of their titles to one messuage and two carucates 
of land in Chittern, for which they each received 205. * 

At the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, in 1291, the estate 
of Lacock Abbey at Chittern was rated at 257. 13s. which 
exceeded by one fifth the value of the lay property of the 
monastery at Lacock. 

At the inquisition of the ninths, in 1341, the ninth of 
corn, fleeces, and lambs, in the parish of Chittern, was 
valued at 5 6s. 8d. within which sum the portion belong- 
ing to the Abbess of Lacock was valued at 21s. 3d. f 

In 1447 the belfry of the Abbess of Lacock, and the 
bell in the same, and all her other houses in the manor of 
Chittern, were suddenly burnt by lightning. J 

In the ecclesiastical survey of 1535 we find the follow- 
ing particulars relating to Chittern : 

s£. s. d. 

Rent of all demesne lands, meadows, and pastures, 
let to John Morgan and William Merkett . . 10 10 

Fixed rent of all tenants, whether free or cus- 
tomary 24 11 7§ 

Rent of the farm of the sheep-walk . . 13 6 1 

Rent and profits of courts . . . 16 



jg.49 4 3§ 
But the actual receipts five years after, when the es- 
tates were under the management of the King's " minis- 
ters," show a considerably larger sum, partly arising, how- 
ever, from the sale of timber : 



* Cartulary, f. 58 b. Appendix, p. xxvii, xxviii. 
t Inq. Non. p. 156. 

% Pat. 25 Hen. VI. m. 1. The Pat 4 Edw. IV. p. 1, m. 1 
also relates to this manor. 

v 2 



324 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 





■& s. 


d. 


Fixed rents . 


1 7 





Rents of customary tenants 


19 


H 


Rents of tenants at will 


2 14 





Diverse farms . 


39 18 


8 


Sale of wood 


. 21 13 





Perquisites of courts 


. 16 


7 




s£84 19 


6| 



The John Morgan mentioned in the Valor was not the 
first of his family who was farmer of the manor of Chit- 
tern. A few years before, Edward Morgan, of Chittern, 
esq. (apparently his brother) died seised of the manor, as 
held under the Abbess* In his will, quoted by Sir R. 
C. Hoare, he mentions his uncle, John Morgan senior, 
John Morgan his brother, and his children Peter, Ed- 
ward, Philip, John^ Isabel, Elizabeth, Jane, and Joan, f 

Anne Temys^ neice to the last Abbess of Lacock, was 
married to William Jordan, of Chittern; J but no con- 
nection of that family with the abbey lands, has been 
traced. The names of Milbourne and John Flower occur 
as the principal landholders after the dissolution, and they 
were succeeded by the family of Michell. 

WICLESCOTE, co. Wilts. 

This place is surveyed in Domesday Book under the 
land of fiugh Lasne. Its name does not appear in mo- 
dern lists of the villages of Wiltshire : but it was a hamlet 
of the parish of Wroughton, and it seems to be iden- 
tical with Coate, seen on the map between Swindon 

* Inq. post mort 20 Hen. VIII. 

f Hoare's Hundred of Heytesbury, p. 171. 

\ See before, p. 292. 



WICLESCOTE. 325 

and Wamborough. The donor was Katharine LuveL, who 
was sister to Philip Basset, the second husband of our 
Foundress's daughter, Ela Countess of Warwick.* Philip 



* See before, p. 160 j where, however, Philip is incorrectly 
stated to have been son of William Basset. By a comprehen- 
sive pedigree of this wide-spreading house, formed by Erdes- 
wick and Dugdale, and printed in the History of Leicester- 
shire, vol. iv. p. 904, it is shown that William Basset, of Sap- 
cote, was cousin-german to Philip. The latter was the son of 
Alan Basset of Wycombe, by Aliva, daughter of Stephen Gay 
(not Gray, as there printed), which Alan was a grandson of 
.Ralph, Chief Justice of England in the time of Henry I. 
Philip himself was Chief Justice of England, appointed in 1261, 
as was his son-in-law Hugh le Despenser. We may add that 
Philip Basset and his sister Katharine were also cousins once 
removed to the daughter-in-law of the Foundress Ela, the 
wife of William Longespe the Crusader ; as shown in the fol- 
lowing brief table : 

Thomas Basset. 



Gilbert Basset, of Bur- Alan Basset, of Wycombe, co, Bucks, 
cester, co, Oxon. and Winterbourn, Wilts. 

i 

r-i , 

Eustachia, wife of Richard Philip Katharine 
de Camville. Basset. Lovel. 

i 

Idonea, wife of William Longespe' II. 

Katharine was the wife of John Lovel, the direct ancestor 
of the Barons Lovel, of Tichmarsh. In the pedigrees of 
Lovel she is incorrectly called Aliva. That was the name of 
her mother, as above mentioned; as also of her neice, the 
heiress of Philip Basset, married first to Hugh le Despenser, 
and afterwards to Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. 



326 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

Basset confirmed his sister's gift, by charter, and by a 
second remitted to the Nuns the suit of court due from 
the land to his manor of Wootton. Another charter states 
that Katharine had bought the land of Roger Lof, — that 
is, probably, his interest as mesne tenant ; who, again, 
remitted to the Nuns, by charter, his title to the estate, 
on the receipt of five marks ; and John Lof his son con- 
firmed the same.* At the taxation of Pope Nicholas., 
about 1291 , this estate was rated at 21. 10s. In 1530 
(4 June, 22 Henry VIII.) it was let, for sixty years or term 
of life, to John Goddarde, sen., John, Thomas, Thomas 
fitaj, and John his sons, at the annual rent of 61. ; and it 
was granted by the King to the same party about 1540. f 

ALBOURN, co. Wilts. 

This is a small town six miles and a half north-east of 
Marlborough. The name does not occur in Stevens's 
extracts from the Cartulary ; but the estate of the Abbey 
here was an early acquisition ; for we find it in the 
Taxation of Pope Nicholas in 1291, rated at 1/. 105. It is 
also mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of 1285 (13 Edw. I.) 

" The Abbess of Lacock holds a certain tenement in the 
manor of Audeburne, which used to follow this hundred 
(Selkeley), as the other free tenants of that manor ; and that 
suit has been subtracted for sixteen years, the jurors know not 
by what warrant." % 

After this, the name of this estate does not occur. 

* These several charters are contained in the Cartulary, 
fa). 82 a— 83 b ; see the Appendix, pp. xxxiii— xxxiv. 

f Ministers' Accounts, 31 and 32 Hen. VIII. in the Aug- 
mentation Office. 

♦ Rot. Hundred, ii. 270. 



AMESBURY — BRISTOL. 327 

We have now reviewed, in the order of their im- 
portance and period of acquisition, all the posses- 
sions of the Abbey, the names of which occur in the 
Taxation of Pope Nicholas, made in 1291. Scarcely 
any property of importance was acquired after that 
time : but the remaining estates will now be briefly 
noticed in alphabetical order. 

AMESBURY, co. Wilts. 

Matilda Eborardi gave all her land in the manor of 
Ambresbury ; for which Philip de Depeford, her widower, 
acknowledged himself to be bound to pay the annual sum 
of 40s. for ever.* The same was described in the Valor 
of 1535, as a c< chief rent from the land of the Lady Pri- 
oress of Ambresbury, lying in West Ambresbury." In 
the Ministers' accounts, Ambresbury is connected with 
Hedington.f 

BRISTOL. 

Agnes, widow of Athelm Germund, gave the Nuns two 
stalls, or shops, in the town of Bristol, charged with an 
annual rent to the King of I2d., for every service ; and 
Matilda, his daughter, gave them 2s. annual rent from her 
house which was situate between that of Gerard le Fran- 
ceis and the church of St. Lawrence, free of every secular 
service. John Tyke, of Bristol, gave a house which he 
held near Monkbridge, with the vacant land thereto be- 
longing. % 

* Cartulary, f. 63 b. App. p. xxx. 

t See before, p. 316. j Cart. f. 123. App. p. xliv. 



328 



ESTATES OF THE ABBEY 



At the Survey of 1535 the rent of these tenements in 
ordinary years was stated to be 6s. 8d. ; in the Ministers' 
accounts of 1539-40, 13s. 4d. 

BYTTON and HANHAM, co. Gloucester. 

Petronilla, daughter of Robert de Damenville, gave the 
Nuns twenty-two acres of arable land of her demesne in 
Bytton, (five miles from Bristol) viz. in Northfelde, &c. * 

Robert Marmiun remitted to them all the title he had 
in the lands and tenements which Robert Perpunt held 
at Xianuin (in the parish of Bytton) ; for which release 
the Nuns gave him 405. f 

At the Surrender, both these estates were let to John 
Taylor ; Hanham, by lease dated 1 1 Feb. 24 Hen. VIII. 
to him, Juliana his wife, and John his son, at the rent of 
13s. 4d.; and Bytton, by lease dated 4 March, 21 Hen. 
VIII. to him, and John and Philip his sons, at the rent 
of 13s. X 

CALNE. 

Galiena of Calne, the widow of Herbert fitz-Peter, gave 
to the Nuns a messuage in that town, of the King's fee, 
and a messuage in Church-street, an acre of land in Rix- 
furlong, another at Bernsted, six acres which she had 
bought of Nicholas Cynnoc, two purchased of Walter son 
of Matthew le Bret, and all the land lying between 
Hernewie-street, and the lands held by Gille the Baker 
and Humfrey Bere ; paying thence annually 6d. to the 
King, 12^. to the Rector of Calne, 6d. to the heirs of 
Nicholas Cynnoc, and for service to the King whatever 
was due ; and to the heirs of Walter son of Matthew le 
Bret 3d. and to the heirs of Alexander de Stodele Sd. § 

* Cart. f. 119 b, 120 a. App. p. xliii. f Ibid. 

X Ministers' Accounts. § Cart. f. 94 1). App. p. xxxv. 



CHICKLADE CHIPPENHAM. 329 

This last rent of 8d. was afterwards remitted to the 
Nuns by Roger de Stodlegh.* 

No property of the Abbey at Calne is noticed in the 
Valor of 1535 ; but in the Ministers' accounts of 1539-40, 
occurs merely : 

Calne — a vacant plot of land . 6d. 

CHICKLADE. 

The Abbey had a close in the wood of Chicklade, con- 
nected with their estate at Chittern. In 126*7, Walter 
Giffard, the Priors of Brumere and Farley, William le 
Droys, Simon de Brokeburg, and Benedict Silvester, con- 
sented that the Nuns should hold for ever their close at 
Chicklade whether old or new. f 

The title in this tenement, and in the custody of the 
wood of Chicklade, was quit-claimed to them by Joan 
daughter of William Larcher. J The cartload of boughs, 
which one of their tenants, Walter the Falconer, claimed 
in right of his tenement in Chittern, has been already 
mentioned under that place. § 

CHIPPENHAM. 

Agnes de Roudon gave all the land which Roger Soper 
once held, with the buildings and all appurtenances, in 
the town of Chippenham, and one plot of land ; || and 
Henry of Bechampton gave all his land and tenement in 
the same town.^f 

* Cart. f. 94 a. App. p. xxxv. f Cart. f. 52 b. App. p. xxvi. 

J Cart. f. 53 b. App. ibid. § See p. 322. 

|| Cart. f. 96 b. App. p. xxxyi. % Cart. f. 97 a. App. ibid. 



330 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 



CLIFF PYPARD, co. Wilts. 

The name of this place does not occur in Stevens's ex- 
tracts from the Cartulary. The advowson of the church 
became the property of the Abbey about the year 1398 y 
being the gift of John Maydenhithe.* The greater part 
of its revenue, namely 81., was expended in the vestments 
of the convent, and 6s. 8d, was distributed in alms to the 
poor on Good Friday, f 

In 1535, this rectory was let to John Hoper at 10Z. 
rent ; but in the Ministers' accounts of 1539-40, the fee- 
farm of the rectory is set down as 1Z. 16s. 

The following Vicars were presented by the Abbesses 
of Lacock : 

1421 Nicholas Frankelyn, vice John Smyth ; res. same year. 

1422 John Cook, vice John King. 
John Derneford, res. 1434. 

1434 William Towe. 

1436 John Derneford, pres. by the Abbess Agnes,J res. 1439. 
1439 Nicholas Kempston, res. 1441. 
1441 John Cleydon, d. 1468. 

1468 William Hegges, exchanged for vicarage of Rowde 1489. 
1489 Richard Foster (Vicar of Rowde 1485), died 1513. 
1513 John Gerrard, d. 1544. 

1544 William Hodgekinson, presented by Thomas Temyse, on 
the grant of Joan Temyse, late Abbess. 

* Pat. 22 Ric. II. p. 2, m. 14, 15. '< Joh'es Maydenhithe, 
et alii, pro Abb' de Lacock, Clyve Pipard dimid. acr' terr' et 
advoc' eccl'ie approprianda." The manor and advowson had 
been named in the inquis. p. mort. of John de Cobham of 
Chissebury, Wilts., in the preceding year, 21 Richard II. 

f See before, pp. 287, 288. 

X In the Wiltshire Institutions, p. 126, the two lines, 
" Agnes Abbatissa de Lacok," and t( Johannes Heryng, ar- 
miger," patron of Foxlegh, are transposed, 



MACKINGDON SLADE. 331 



MACKINGDON, co. Wilts. 

This is the name of a manor in which the Abbess of 
Lacock acquired an interest, about the year 1297;, from 
the gift of Isabel de Pipard ; * but how long it belonged 
to the Convent does not appear. 

SLADE, co. Wilts. 

Joan de O Seville, widow of William de Rugdon, gave 
the Nuns 40s. yearly rent of a tenement which Walter of 
the Slade held in the parish of Box, together with the 
same Walter (being a serf, attached to the land), and all 
the service due from him and his heirs. The estate was 
free of all secular service, f This gift was confirmed by 
Walter de Pavely. J 

Walter de Godarvile § released to them the suit which 
Walter de la Slade was wont to make to him in his hun- 
dred of Chippenham, from three weeks to three weeks. || 

* " Maghinden maner' extent. Isabel Pipard pro Abb'issa de 
Lacock." Esc. 25 Edw. I. no. 54. Calendar, vol. i. p. 143. 
In the Testa de Nevill, Richard Pipard appears as holding half 
a knight's fee in u Mekindon." 

f Cart. f. 97 a. App. p. xxxvi. + Ibid. 

§ Walter de Godarville, the lord of Chippenham, was in 
1216 a Knight of the household of the famous Falkes de 
Breant (often mentioned in connection with the Earl of Salis- 
bury in the early part of this volume) ; and in that year gal- 
lantly defended Hertford Castle against Louis of France. In 
1231, being Warden of the castle of Montgomery, he there 
fell into a stratagem contrived by a monk, who induced him to 
ford a river at an unsafe place. (Matthew Paris.) 
|| Cart. f. 100 a. App. xxxvii. 



332 ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 

In the Valor of 1535 this is described as a chief rent 
of 405. arising from the land and tenements of Henry 
Nowell, and again as a " fixed rent " from Richard 
No well in the Ministers' accounts. 



TROWBRIDGE. 

Ralph le Franceis gave to the Convent a burgage and 
land which he had of the gift of Adam ( the Goldsmith 
in the town of Trowbridge, paying every year to Adam 
Id. and to the chief lord 1 lb. of pepper, for the whole 
service. * 

In the Valor of 1535, and again in the Ministers' ac- 
counts, the rent of this tenement is mentioned as being 
85.; in the latter the name of Trowbridge is also men- 
tioned as being connected with some rents at Bishop- 
strow. f 

UFFCOTE, co. Wilts. 

This place is situated between Cliff Pypard and Dray- 
cot Foliot, in the hundred of Kingsbridge. 

Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, 
Constable of England, gave the Nuns various rents in 
Offcote, amounting to 195. Ad. % remitting them at the 
same time 12c?. due to him from a tenement in Hed ding- 
ton^ He also directed the several tenants, Walter Mau- 
duit of the Frithe, Walter de Okeburn, Peter Bonhome of 
Ofcote, and the Prior or Master of the hospital of St. 
John at Calne, to render the services due for the same 



* Cart. f. 98 a. App. xxxvi. . f See before, p. 313. 

X See the particulars in App. p. xxxiv. § Cart. f. 87 a. 



UFFCOTE— UPHAM — WESTBURY. 333 

tenements in future to the Abbess.* In 1280 the Master 
of Calne Hospital engaged, by charter, to pay the rent. of 
I2d. as before, but the Abbess remitted his suit of court 
every three weeks, for suit twice a year, with 1 2d. for 
scutage. f 

In the Valor of 1535, and in the Ministers' accounts, 
we find this only particular at Uffcote : 
Chief rent issuing from the land of John Savage 135. <±d. 

UPHAM, co. Wilts. 

William Longespe gave the convent all the land which 
had once belonged to Nicholas de Hamptun in Upham, J 
near Albourn. The estate was let by the Abbess 14 Jan. 
19 Hen. VIII. to John Godderd, and to John, Richard, 
and Thomas his sons, at the annual rent of \l. 13s. 4d.; 
and was granted to him by the King, with the estates 
at Wiclescote and Wamborough. 

WESTBURY. 

Anastasia de Pavely gave 20s. annual rent in the manor 
of Westbury, which was confirmed by her father Walter 
de Pavely. § This was either the Walter who died in 
1297, or his grandfather of the same name, who died in 
1255; || in which latter case his daughter may have been 
the same Anastasia, who, as the widow of Elias of Bishop- 
strow, has been before mentioned under that place. 



* Cart. f. 88 a. App. p. xxxv. 

t Ibid. f. 89 b. App. ibid. J Cart. f. 86 a. App. p. xxxiv. 

§ Cart. f. 65. App. p. xxx. 

|| See the pedigree of Pavely, in Hoare's Hundred of West- 
bury, p. 3. 



334 



ESTATES OF THE ABBEY. 



Account of Receipts at Lacock, by the King's Minis- 
ters, in 31 Hen. VIII. (1539-40). 

{Abstracted from the original Roll in the Augmentation Office.*) 

£. s. d. 

Fixed rents ..... 

Rents of customary tenants 

Rents of tenants at will 

Various Farms .... 

Farm of the Rectory 

Movable rents of 6 cocks and 18 hens from cus- 
tomary tenants . . 

Annuity from the Vicarage 

Tolls and profits of the yearly fair on St. 
mas's Day . ..... 

Perquisites of the two courts held this year, 
30s. fines of lands .... 



Under the fourth head of " Farms " occur : 

The farm of the Mansion called the Abbat's 
lodginge, with two houses called the Parsonage and 
the Gatehouse, with the bakehouse, brewery, barns, 
stables, dovecotes, gardens, orchards, pools, &c. . 2 

Farm of fishing on Avon, from the foot-bridge 
between Lacock and Beauley, to the end of the 
meadow called Rydingmeade . . . .010 

Farm of 307 acres of arable land . . .524 

Farm of sheepwalk and three acres belonging, 
called the Barton . .... 3 



. 


1 


18 3 


. 


18 


7 10 


. 


10 


14 4£ 


. 


19 


5 6 


. 


6 


13 4 


en cus- 






. 





4 


. 





3 9 


Tho- 






. 





2 4 


r, with 






• 


2 


11 5 


£60 


9i 



* In the roll for the next year, abstracted in the New Mo- 
nasticon, no account is rendered from Lacock, because it had 
been then granted to Sir William Sherington. 



335 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Dissolution of Religious Houses in England — Dispersion of the 
Nuns of Lacock — Valediction, and Last View from Old 
Sarum — Concluding Reflections. 

We have now traced the annals of Lacock Ab- 
bey, to the time when that royal exemplar of all that 
was most ruthless in tyranny — all that was most in- 
exorable in revenge — all that was most odious and 
loathsome in lust — all that was most sordid and 
insatiate in avarice — Henry the Eighth, with the 
abused title of defender of the faith, smote, 
through the Kingdom, the unnumbered beautiful 
edifices, which had served, in their earlier day, the 
cause of peace, learning, hospitality, and charity ; and 
which, in lieu of devastating Poor-laws, might, under 
proper regulations, have continued to serve the 
same holy purposes, reformed, like the Church of 
England, after the Bible had been opened, and 
human traditions had vanished, like the dreams of 
the Seven Sleepers ! # But venit summa dies ! The 
word was pronounced — " Down with them, even 
unto the ground ! " In the majesty of silent deso- 
lation, they yet seem to hallow the scenes, through 
the Land, where their august and scattered frag- 
ments are strewn. 

* Latimer, with his honest earnestness, entreated two or 
three in every shire might be continued, not in Monkery, but as 
establishments for learned men, &c. and for the sake of hospi- 
tality. Southey's History of the Church. 



336 VISIT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSIONERS. 

Among these desolated houses, Lacock has pre- 
served, from that day to this, its most perfect 
ancient form, the cloisters, the cells of the Nuns, 
its ancient walls and ivied chimnies, almost entire. 

The hypocritical formality with which this imperial 
robbery was accompanied, would excite every feel- 
ing of virtuous indignation, if the humble and un- 
complaining submission of the helpless daughters 
of piety and charity did not demand our tears. Let 
us contemplate the scene which in all these houses 
of religion, peace, seclusion, and charity, was gene- 
rally exhibited, at the time when the stern visitation, 
by interested Commissioners, took place. The 
Abbess and Nuns, or Prior and Monks, are sum- 
moned before the visitors in the Chapter House. 

In the instance of this Nunnery, the Abbess and 
her Nuns are called before these same Commis- 
sioners, having offered up their supplications for 
the last time together, and we may conceive them 
standing in silent submission before the army of 
cold and acute Inquisitors, in the Chapter House 
of their Convent. The instrument has been already 
prepared, signifying that the Abbess and her Nuns, 
" of their own will and free consent, without com- 
pulsion" did, out of " pure conscience," resign for 
ever for the King's use, their whole property and 
possessions ! ! and this instrument they were com- 
pelled to confirm even for the morsel of bread 
granted in their destitution ! 

All remonstrance, complaint, or refusal, were 
equally interdicted ; the crimes alleged were such 



THE ABBESS OF GOOSTQW. 337 

as the Wolf could easily find when the Lamb 
was accused; though many of the charges, with- 
out proof, are too enormous not to excite instant 
indignation at the falsehood. See, in Speed, the 
disgusting catalogue of monastic monsters, so set 
down, in cold blood, with not the slightest proof 
adduced, and with no reply, but indignant silence ! 

Undoubtedly, abuses and relaxation of moral dis- 
cipline, in many instances, were found. 

But there is one calm dispassionate appeal, so 
touching and so natural, of one Abbess, that T shall 
lay it before the reader. The writer is the Abbess 
of that very convent, Godstow, # in Oxfordshire, 
where the beautiful, but unfortunate, mother of the 
first noble Longesp6, Fair Rosamund, had her tomb. 

* The following exquisite Latin lines, on the ruins of God. 
stow Nunnery, were written by Archbishop Markham, when 
at Oxford : 

Qua nudo Rosamonda humilis sub culmine tecti 

Marmoris obseuri servat inane decus ; 
Rara intermissae circum vestigia molis, 
Et sola in vacuo tramite porta labat. 
Sacrae olim sedes riguae convallis in umbra, 

Et veteri pavidum religione nemus. 
Pallentes nocturna ciens campana sorores 
Hinc matutinam saepe monebat avem ; 
Hinc procul, in media tardae caliginis hora, 

Prodidit arcanas arcta fenestra faces. 
Nunc muscosa extant sparsim de cespite saxa> 

Nunc muro avellunt germen agreste boves. 
Fors et tempus erit, cum tu, Rhedycina, sub astris 
Edita, cum centum turribus ipsa rues. 
z 



338 LETTER OR THE ABBESS OF GODSTOW. 



Letter of the Abbess of Oodstow to Cromwell, the 
Visitor, complaining of Dr. London. 

" Pleasith hit your Honour, with my moste humble 
dowtye, to be advertised, that where it hath pleasyd your 
Lordship to be the verie meane to the King's Majestie for 
my preferment, most unworthie to be Abbes of this the 
King's Monasterie of Godystowe ; in the which oftyce I 
truste I have done the best in my power to the maynte- 
nance of God's trewe honour, with all truth and obedience 
to the King's Majestie ; and was never moved nor desired 
by any creature in the King's behalfe, or in your Lord- 
ship's name, to surrender and give up the House ; nor was 
ever mynded, nor intended so to do, otherwise than at the 
King's Gracious Commandment, or yours. To the which 
I do, and have ever done, and will submit myself most 
humblie and obedientlie. And I trust to God, that I 
have never offendyd God's Laws, neither the King's, 
wherebie that this poore Monasterie ought to be sup- 
pressed. And this notwithstanding, my good Lorde, so 
it is, that Dr. London, whiche (as your Lordship doth 
well know) was agaynst my promotion, and hath ever 
sence borne me great malys and grudge, like my mortal 
enemye, is sodenlie cummyd unto me, with a greate rowte 
with him, and here doth threten me and my Sisters, sayeng 
that he hath the King's Commission to suppress this 
House, spyte of my teeth. And when he saw that I was 
contente that he shoulde do all things according to his 
Commission, and shewyd him playne that I wolde never 
surrender to his hande, being my awncyent enemye ; now 
he begins to entreat me, and to invegle my Sisters, one by 
one, otherwise than ever I herde tell that the King's sub- 
jects hathe been handelyd, and here tarieth and conty- 



LETTER OF THE ABBESS OF GODSTOW. 339 

nueth, to my greate coste and charges, and will not take 
my answere that I will not surrender till I know the 
King's Gracious Commandment, or your good Lordship's. 
Therefore I do moste humblie beseche you to contynue 
my good Lorde, as you ever have bene ; and to directe 
your honorable letters to remove him hens. And when- 
soever the King's gracious commandment, or yours, shall 
come unto me, you shall find me most reddie and obeyant 
to folloe the same. And notwithstanding that Dr. London, 
like an untrew man, hath informed your Lordship, that I 
am a spoiler and a waster, your good Lordship shall know 
that the contrary is trewe ; for I have not alienatyd one 
halporthe of goods of this Monasterie, movable or unmov- 
able, but have rather increas'd the same, nor never made 
lease of any farme or peece of grownde belongyng to this 
House, or then hath beene in times paste, alwaies set 
under Convent Seal for the wealthe of the House. And 
therefore my very truste is, that I shall find the Kynge as 
gracious Lord unto me, as he is to all other his subjects, 
seyng I have not offendyd; and am and will be moste 
obedyent to his most gracious commandment at all tymes 
with the Grace of Allmighty Jesus, who ever preserve you 
in honour longe to endure to his pleasure. 

Amen. Godistow, the V th daie of November. 
Your moste bownden Beds Woman, 
Katherine Bulkeley, Abbes there. 

This simple and affecting letter, from the very 
House where the Mother of Longespe was buried, 
is a proof of this poor woman's blameless integrity, 
and, that of the Sisters of her mournful society. It 
is also a proof of her pious resignation ; and, more- 
over, a proof to what hard measures, and to what 

z2 



340 PROCEEDINGS OF THE KINg's VISITORS. 

worldly craftiness, she, with so many others, was 
exposed. 

Notwithstanding all the enormities, the account 
of which the Visitors published, I should be much 
more inclined to think that most of the Superiors 
and Sisters of these Houses were guilty of no 
more than this poor Abbess ; that is, guilty of 
having possessions, to which they were legally en- 
titled, and for which insatiate avarice, and tyranny, 
panted. 

Of what description of persons many of the 
Commissioners were, is proved by the conduct of 
this very Dr. London, who could insult a virtuous 
woman in her sorrows, and who himself afterwards ? 
convicted of Perjury, was justly exposed to public 
degradation and scorn. 

The measures of the Commissioners were impe- 
rative, and sometimes they proceeded, as at Glas- 
tonbury, to the extreme penalty of death, on a 
charge of high treason ! On the other hand, if 
they recommended the religious to the King's 
favour, it was on account of their readiness to yield 
to the imperial mandate ! 

The following Letter of the Prior of Hinton, the 
sister-foundation of Lacock, addressed to his brother 
in London, contains some remarkable passages, pre- 
senting the picture of a mind hesitating between a 
sense of duty and the terrors of arbitrary power : # 

* From Ellis's Original Letters, Second Series. 



LETTER OF THE PRIOR OF HINTON. 341 

Jhus. 
In Owr Lord Jhesu shall be yowr Salutation. And 
where ye marvelle that I and my brotherne do nott frelye 
and voluntarilie geve and surr endure upe owrHowse at the 
mocyone off the Kyngs Commissinars, but stonde styfflye 
(and as ye thynke) obstenatlye in owr opynion, trulye 
Brothere I marvelle gretlye that ye thynke soo ; but, 
rather that ye wolde have thowght us lyghte and hastye 
in gevyn upe that thynge whyche ys not owrs to geve, but 
dedicate to Allmyghtye Godefor service to be done to hys 
honoure contynuallye, with other many goode dedds off 
charite whiche daylye be done in thys Howse to owr 
Christen neybors. And consideryng that ther ys no cause 
gevyn by us why the Howse shull be putt downe, but 
that the service off Gode, religious conversacion off the 
bretherne, hospitalite, almes deddis, with all other owr 
duties be as well observyde in this poore Howse as in eny 
relygious Hoivse in thys Realme or in Fraunce ; whiche we 
have trustyde that the Kynges Grace wolde considere. 
But, by cause that ye wrytte off the Kyngs hye displea- 
sure and my Lorde Prevy Sealis, who ever hath byn my 
especialle good Lorde, and I truste yette wyll be, / wyll 
endevere my selffe, as muche as I maye, to perswade my 
brotherne to a comfformyte in thys matere ; soo that the 
Kyngs Hynes nor my sayd good Lorde shall have eny 
cause to be displeside with us : trustyng that my poor 
brothern (whiche knowe not where to have theme lyvynge} 
shall be charitable looke uppon. Thus our Lord Jhesu 
preserve yow in grace. Hent\ x. die Februarii. 

E. Hord. 

To hys brother Alen Horde in 

Medylle Tem nolle. dd ; 



342 PURPOSES OF RELIGIOUS HOUSES. 

The pensions assigned to the superiors were ge- 
nerally sufficient, and they frequently obtained the 
opportunity of benefiting their relations by a fa- 
vourable lease, or an incipient title to some of the 
conventual estates, as appears to have been the 
case with the Abbess of Lacock. 

The prize was thus held out to those who, in 
uncomplaining acquiescence to irresistible power, 
resigned their ancient homes, so long devoted to 
seclusion and prayer. But what was held out to 
those less complying ? not the prize, but punish- 
ment. Crimes the most revolting and incredible 
were brought forward, as we have said, on the 
gratuitous depositions of interested men, without 
trial or witnesses, or judge or jury ! 

Burnet, bred among the Iconoclasts of the school 
of John Knox, seems, though an English bishop, 
quite convinced of the justice of the infliction, pre- 
suming that " these Houses were built solely on 
fraudulent pretences of praying the souls of the 
Founders out of purgatory !" No! These beau- 
tiful buildings were raised pro salute animarum— 
for the souls' health of the Founders and bene- 
factors ; but were they built for this only ? No ! 
they were raised for those Deum servientes, through 
all ages ; for those who, living apart from the 
world, had dedicated their lives to the service of 
God, in pious retirement, and for the sake of 
charity. But if they had been raised exclusively 



MOTIVES OF THE DISSOLUTION. 343 

for those who, with mistaken views, prayed or 
fC sung' for the dead, is that a reason for their uni- 
versal destruction ? It must ever be remembered, 
they were not raised for this purpose alone : it was 
that peaceful piety might find an asylum, that cha- 
rities might be dispensed to the poor, hospitality 
to the rich ; and if the dead were remembered and 
recommended in the prayers of surviving friends, 
before the Bible was open — would this be a crime 
so to be visited on all those houses of peace and 
charity, in which, at least, it might be said, that — 

" Pitye is not dead ! " 
and if abuses, in the long course of prosperity, were 
inseparable from such institutions ; what compari- 
son can there be between the most dissolute of 
their inmates, and the loathsome tyrant, at whose 
feet their riches were rolled? and whose tyranny 
could only be equalled by his avarice — his lust — 
and his revenge ? 

The imagination may faintly conceive, but what 
language can adequately express, the feelings of for- 
lorn destitution which must have weighed down the 
hearts of these poor women of suppressed Nunne- 
ries,* some of them perhaps having been secluded 

* " That the Nunneries were more universally entitled to 
compassion than the houses of the Monks, and Canons, and 
Friars, cannot be denied. Hume has very justly observed, 
that, at that period, a woman of family who failed of a settle- 
ment in the marriage state, an accident to which such persons 



344 DISPERSION OF THE NUNS. 

from social life through the best and fairest por- 
tion of their lives, and who were now turned adrift, 
to find, where they might, a sojourn till the earth 
received their ashes, and the prayers of their Sisters in 
sorrow, for their souls' repose, were offered to the 
God whom they had served so long. 

Some natural tears they dropt, but wip'd them soon ; 
The world was all before them, where to seek 
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide. 

There were then no Poor Laws ; and though 
some of the Abbesses were sufficiently, not to say 
amply, pensioned, the Nuns received the humblest 
means of subsistence. There were no poor-houses, 
wherein they might receive some portion of that cha- 
rity which it had been their care to dispense to others. 
They were dismissed into a world, of which they had 
so little experience ; and happy was that Sister who 
could return in peace to a parental hearth, not yet 
deprived for ever of the humble circle which had 
gladdened her youthful years. 

Although the domestic portions of the Abbey of 
Lacock, and its splendid cloisters, yet remain in re- 
markable perfection, its church was wholly destroyed, 

were more liable than women of lower station, had really no 
rank which she properly filled j and a Convent was a retreat 
both honourable and agreeable, from the inutility and often 
want which attended her situation." Ellis's Original Letters, 
First Series, vol. ii. p. 72. 



THE CLOISTERS OF LACOCK. 345 

arid not a vestige can be traced of its ancient altars ; 
the bones of the honoured Foundress and her family 
were alike disregarded. She had peacefully sunk 
to her last repose within the walls of her own edifice, 
having established its prosperity in temporal matters, 
and its discipline in all the religious objects of its 
foundation ; and no thought at any time had entered 
her imagination, that, in years to come, her charters 
would be set at nought, their royal confirmations 
given to the winds, and her pious bounty itself annihi- 
lated, by the arbitrary will of a King or Parliament* 
One single mark of respectful remembrance has 
been paid to the Countess Ela. Her epitaph is 
still preserved on a stone * within those Cloisters, 
which once echoed to the foot-steps 5 and resounded 
the Ave-Marias, of the Nuns. The carved roof, 
overhead, still entire, preserves a grotesque assembly 
of men in ludicrous attitudes, and monsters, which 
seem to mock the impotent devastation of the 

* If this stone be the same which formerly covered Ela's 
grave in the church, and not that of a more recent Abbess, to 
which the inscription has been transferred (and the correct 
formation of the characters appears to negative its being a 
modern copy), it was clearly a sepulchral memorial renewed at 
a period considerably subsequent to her decease. The grave- 
stone in Salisbury cathedral of her son the Bishop, who sur- 
vived her for half a century, is one of the earliest examples of 
brass plates : and, besides, the style of these (as far as their 
outline can show it) marks a subsequent age. (See a further 
description in p. 351.) The renewal of the monuments of 
Founders was a practice of which there are many instances. 



346 FAREWELL. 

destroyers of so many kindred Establishments! 
These uncouth figures, as if in defiance of the malice 
and tyranny of man, present to the pensive and 
contemplative visitor, a vivacious and startling 
aspect, strangely contrasting with the surrounding 
silence, or the plaintive notes, at times, of the discon- 
solate and wintry wren. 

And now, having endeavoured faithfully to tell the 
story of the fortunes of Ela Countess of Salisbury, 
and the noble Family of Longespe, and relate the 
Annals of the Abbey of Lacock, to the period of its 
dissolution, we bid farewell to the cloisters and tomb 
of Ela, and to the ivied chimnies of this ancient and 
interesting historical scene. We bid them farewell 
with parting prayers for the stability of the structure, 
and the prosperity, under happier auspices, of the 
present possessors ; with parting prayers, that the 
smile of peace may be witnessed, and the song of 
harmony heard under its roof for centuries to come, 
as when this history was first meditated, on hearing 
accidentally the music to the ancient hymn, " Gloria 
in excelsis," sung by four female voices, in the 
very spot where it had been heard nearly six cen- 
turies ago. 



347 



MODERN STATE OF LACOCK ABBEY. 



L acock Abbey was visited in 1801 by Mr. John Car- 
ter, F.S.A. the well-known architectural antiquary, who 
shortly after transmitted to Sir Richard Colt Hoare, the 
following brief remarks, accompanied by a collection of 
drawings, which are preserved in the library at Stour- 
head, and some of the most important of which have 
been furnished by that zealous patron of Wiltshire topo- 
graphy for the illustration of the present volume. 

ei The remains of this grand female seclusion are more 
extensive, and in better preservation, than any thing of 
the kind within our kingdom. Though few vestiges of 
the church are to be met with, yet the site of the domestic 
parts is complete. Great praise is due to those who 
have preserved the ancient particulars, and for the very 
great care evinced to keep each part of the arrangement 
in the best repair ; not as garden ruins, or picturesque em- 
bellishments, but as specimens of fine architecture, and as 
a spot sacred to the memory of female virtue and reli- 
gious vows. 

" A south-east view of the building* (as engraved in 
the accompanying Plate) presents a mixture of the ancient 

* The aspect of Lacock Abbey at various periods may be 
observed from the following views published previously to those 
in the present volume : 1. by S. and N. Buck, 1732, folio, co- 
pied in a reduced size, shortly after, in the Universal Museum ; 
2. in Britton's Beauties of Wiltshire, dated 1815 ; 3. and 4. in 
Neale's Gentlemen's Seats, 1826. 



348 MODERN STATE 

and modern architecture, and is the most picturesque 
point from which it is viewed. On the left of the tall 
turret is seen a wall with traces of arches, from which it 
is inferred that the north aisle of the body of the church 
stood here. 

" The gallery on the top of the wall of the octangular 
turret, appears to have been the work of James or Charles 
the First's time ; and not according to the received story, 
on foot here, that this gallery in particular was a part of 
the original building, and that one of the Nuns jumped 
from it into the arms of her lover. On the right of the 
turret the exterior arches (once windows) to the vestry, 
chapter-house, and bathing-chamber are seen." 

A ground-plan of the Nunnery, by Mr. Carter, is given 
in the opposite Plate, the references in which are as follow : 

A. Approach to Nunnery. — B. Offices erected about the 
16th century. — C. Court-yard. — D. Modern gateway. — E. 
Modern flight of steps. — F. Site of the great hall. — G. Crypt 
under the Refectory, now a modern hall. — I. Cloisters. — J. 
Gravestone of Ela. — K. Supposed bathing-chamber. — L. 
Stone lavatory. — M. Avenue. — N. Chapter house. — O. Grave- 
stone.— P. Tomb of llbert de Chaz.— A. Vestry.— R. Sup- 
posed north wall of the Church. — S. Terrace. 

" It is believed that a very small portion of the original 
walls of the domestic part of this edifice are destroyed ; 
and, however injudicious may have been the modern de- 
corations which have been introduced, yet when we com- 
pare the remnants still left of this monastic building, little 
regret should be left on the present occasion. The church 
is wholly gone ; yet its situation may be determined by 
certain arches stopped up on the south side of the 
cloisters. 



s 



nh". 




OF LACOCK ABBEY. 349 

Ci The elegant capitals in the vestry-room and cloisters 
merit our attention; they represent female heads, in com- 
pliment probably to Ela, the Foundress of the Abbey, 
There are also some other curious devices in sculpture. 

" In the bathing-chamber, chapter-house, and vestry, 
the architecture appears to be of the early kind ; and that 
of the cloisters about the time of Henry IV. The chim- 
neys are curious, and highly ornamented." 



In the year 1806, the Rev. George Witham, residing 
at Lacock, as Chaplain to the dowager Countess of 
Shrewsbury, compiled and printed with his own hands a 
short History of Lacock Abbey, from which the following 
extracts are made :* 

" The valley in which this Abbey is situated, on the 
river Avon, is very rich and pleasant, about 13 miles east 
of Bath, having to the east the beautifully wooded Bow- 
den-hill, at the distance of about a mile ; between which 
and the Abbey (according to the tradition of the country, 
there was formerly a religious house called Bewly Court) 
a priory or cell in all probability to some monastery, but 
of which I find no mention in ecclesiastical writers ; it is 
now a farm-house, and some of its walls have an air of 
antiquity. 

" The remains of the Abbey are extensive, containing 
almost two squares. 

" The Cloisters are some of the most perfect of reli- 
gious houses that have fallen into private hands in the 

* '» The History of Lacock, or Locus Beatae Mariae, from 
Dugdale, Stevens, &c. With additions on the Present State of 
the Abbey. Lacock, by the Rev. G. Witham, 1806." small 
quarto, pp. viii. 44, a literary curiosity of great rarity. 



350 MODERN STATE 

kingdom, if we except those of our cathedrals, where care 
has been taken to preserve antiquity in all its beauteous 
forms. Within these cloisters most of the Nuns were 
buried, as is customary in all female monasteries. " 

An excellent view of the Cloisters was published in Brit- 
ton's Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain, 4 to. 1808. 
The grotesque carvings of the roof are occasionally varied 
by coats of arms ; of which the following is an account, 
the names of the owners being partly suggested : 

Bendy of six, Or and Azure. Sysung. 
Argent, a lion rampant and bordure engrailed Or. 
Gules, a lion rampant Argent, Mowbray. 
Argent, a cross flory Azure. Sutton. 
Gules, a fess between two chevrons Argent. 
Or, three Torteaux and a label of three points Azure. 
Courtenay. 

Azure, a fret Or. Amundevill. 

Gules, a pair of wings conjoined Or. Seymour. 

Or, three piles Azure. Bryan. 



Gules, a lion rampant Or. Albini. 
Vert, a golden E, for ELA. 

Or, three Torteaux and a bordure Gules. Courtenay. 
Argent, a chevron between three chaplets Gules. Ashton. 
Per pale indented Gu. and Vert, a chevron Or. Heytesbury. 
Gules, three fishes naiant Argent. Roche ? 
Azure, on a dancette Or four escallops Gules. 
Argent, on a cross Vert four fleurs-de-lis of the First. 
Gules, a fess between six martlets Or, a bordure Azure. 
Sir William Beauchamp, of Sussex. 

Gules, a dancette Argent. Papworth. 

Or, a chevron Gules. Stafford. 

Sable, a fess between two chevrons Or. Baynard. 



OF LACOCK ABBLY 



351 



The gravestone now inscribed with the epitaph of the 
Countess Ela, (already recited in p. 5,) is 5 feet 6 in> 
long by 4 feet wide ; and bears the indentations for brass 
plates, which represent a tabernacle or canopy, with two 
shields of arms at each side. It is clearly of a date long 
subsequent to the death of the Abbess Ela, and was 
probably substituted for her first less splendid coffin-lid* 
There is a second gravestone, once inlaid with brass, an- 
swering to nearly the same description ; and which may 
be attributed to one of the latter Abbesses. 

Among some curious fragments of sculptured stone, 
which are preserved in the cloisters, are two portions of 
a coffin-lid, of far greater antiquity. It is ornamented in 
a singular manner, with three croziers engraved in outline 
as represented in the annexed cut ; and may justly be con- 
sidered the sepulchral memorial of one of the earliest 
Abbesses ; or, with great probability, as that which once 
covered the spot where the heart of Nicholas Longespe, 
the aged Bishop of Salisbury, was deposited. Its size, 
which is only 16 inches long, by 10 inches wide in the 
upper part, is favourable to the latter conjecture. 



^1ff\ 




352 



MODERN STATE 



To resume Mr. Witham's remarks : — " From the 
cloisters there was a communication by a door into 
the room that is now called the Nuns' Kitchen. In 
general there was no direct communication in monas- 
teries from the cloisters to the kitchen, therefore I take 
it to have been the Refectory ; and the more so as 
there was also another communication to this room, 
which I suppose was the buttery; there are also three 
pillars along the middle of it, which is not uncommon in 
religious houses. There is now in this place a very large 
stone trough, hewn out of a single stone, in length 1 1 feet 
3 inches, in breadth 4 feet 1 1 inches, and in depth 2 feet ; 
but for what use I can form no adequate conjecture : it 
may have been placed here since the dissolution of the 
monastery, and have been taken out of the farm-yard, 
where it might have served cattle. 

" From the cloisters there was a door into the chapter- 
house, in which there are two tombstones ; one, by tradi- 
tion, was that of a Nun who was found entire in her 
habit, but soon, on opening the coffin, mouldered into 
dust. The other was brought from Monkton Farley." 



The form of the inscription on this last-mentioned stone 
is so extraordinary, that it has been thought sufficiently 
curious to be represented in fac-simile (see the Plate). 
When read at length, the words are 

Hie jacet Ilbertus de Chaz bonitate refertus, 
Qui cum Brotona dedit hie perplurima dona. 

A practice which was prevalent in the decline of the 
Roman empire, and which was imitated by our earliest 
monastic scholars,* is here exhibited in excess. Within 



* Other instances of this species of writing are the epitaphs 
on William Deincourt, in Lincoln Cathedral, about 1100, (en- 




+Jliq;lAdaT.-|LB6 



OF LACOCK ABBEY. 353 

such letters as afford cavities practicable for the purpose, 
those letters which immediately follow are placed (in 
small) ; the extent of the whole being thus compressed in 
a surprising degree, at the same time that the height of 
the inscription remains very considerable,* and is there- 
fore more visible at a distance, however difficult a task it 
may prove, on closer inspection, to decypher it. 

In the present instance, the monks of Farley appear 
themselves to have felt that this puzzling involution of 
the letters was carried to too grert an extreme ; and in 
consequence they had the inscription repeated, at length, 
though in a much smaller size, round the margin of the 
stone. With respect to this smaller inscription, it is 
worthy of observation that its antiquity is probably but 

graved in Dugdale's Baronage, Hall's Trivetus, Gough's 
Monuments, vol. ii. pi. xiv. Pegge's Sylloge of Inscriptions, 
pi. iv.) that of Bishop Roger, at Salisbury Cathedral, 1139, 
(engraved in Archseologia, vol. ii. pi. 13, Gough's Monuments, 
vol. i. pi. iv. Gough's Camden, vol. i. pi. xi.) and that on 
Archbishop Theobald, at Canterbury, 1161, (in Archaeologia, 
vol. xiv. pi. 10.) ; the dedication stones of Tewkesbury and 
Postling (in Pegge's Sylloge of Inscriptions, plates i and iii) • 
but none of these are so compressed as the epitaph of Ilbertus 
de Chaz • and the only inscription which in this respect ap- 
proaches it, is that on the dedication stone of St. George's, 
Southwark, engraved in Archseologia, vol. ii. pi. xiii., Gough's 
Monuments, vol. i. pi. iv. and Pegge's Sylloge, p. 56. The 
epitaph at Magdeburg, in Germany, of Edith, an Anglo-Saxon 
Princess (though supposed to be not quite so ancient as her 
time), is also engraved in this style j see the Gentleman's Ma- 
gazine, vol. c. i. 195. 

* The length of this inscription is 4- feet 9 inches, the 
height of the first stroke of the letter H is six inches, that of 
the last D 3| inches. 

2 x 



354 MODERN STATE 

little removed from that of the larger one : from fifty to 
a hundred years is perhaps all the difference. The letters 
are all squarer ; and the e and c are closed, the former 
taking a round back, as is usual in what are termed Lorn- 
bardic characters ; but it is very remarkable that, in one 
part (near the centre of the inscription, when the carver 
may have been doubtful of his space,) the contractions of 
the original are retained much as before, — in the words 
refertus, qui cum — The name of the party is in the 
smaller inscription spelt Chat, though in the larger the 
final letter is clearly different, and may be safely read as z, 
which orthography, is supported by the charters of Monk- 
ton Farley, printed in Dugdale's Monasticon. The fol- 
lowing extracts from the Confirmation charter to Far- 
ley of Humfrey and Margaret de Bohun, to which Ilbertus 
de Chaz is himself the first witness, set forth his i( plu- 
rima dona," and prove the justice with which that phrase 
was employed in the epitaph : 

" Praeterea concedimus eis et. confirmamus Broctonam, quam 
Ilbertus de Chaz eis dedit, solutam et quietam ab omni ser- 

vitio ad nos pertinente Et decimam de Cluttona cum 

uno homine sex solidos reddente in eadem villa,, ex dono U- 
berti de Chaz, et ecclesiam de Ferenberga post mortem Haraldi 
presbyteri, et ecclesiam de Cluttona, ex donatione praedicti 
Ilberti, et ex dono ipsius decern solidatas terra de Hethesing- 
tona (i;e£ Hethelhamtune)/' 

This charter not only fully illustrates the "many gifts "' 
of Ilbert de Chaz ; but it fixes his eera as a contemporary 
of Humfrey de Bohun the Sewer of King Henry the First, 
who died in 1185, thus showing the date of this very 
ancient and curious monument. 

The " Brotona " mentioned in the epitaph is Brough- 
ton in Wiltshire, near Melksham, and the manor there 
given by Ilbert de Chaz received the same name of Monk- 



OF LACOCK ABBEY. 355 

ton which was applied to Farley itself. In 1526, as ap- 
pears from a roll in the Augmentation Office, the priory 
received from the manor of Monketon in Broughton a 
yearly income of 13/. 105. 8d., from Clutton 4s., from 
Farneburgh 12s. 8d., and from Hichilhamton 8s. ; so that 
they had good reason to preserve the memory of this 
liberal benefactor. 

The curious gravestone which has given rise to these 
remarks, was brought to light in the year 1744, after hav- 
ing been buried for two centuries ; for a rabbit-warren had 
been formed over the site of the priory church of Monk- 
ton Farley ! On the ground being levelled, in the year 
mentioned, the pavement of the" chancel appeared nearly 
complete, and several gravestones and skeletons were dis- 
closed. Two of the former were adorned with sculpture, 
one of them representing a prior named Lawrence, and 
the other a man's bust and a lion, which from its situation 
near the altar, was attributed to the founder. These, it is 
feared, were destroyed ; for when Mr. Gough made in- 
quiry respecting this inscription of Ilbert de Chaz in vhe 
year 1772, he was told " it had lately been broken to 
pieces* to mend the roads ! " Such was probably the fate 

* Mr. Gough in consequence copied in the Archaeologia, 
vol. ii. (in illustration of an essay on Bishop Roger's tomb at 
Salisbury, mentioned in the last note,) a very imperfect copy of 
this inscription, which had been engraved in the Gentleman's 
Magazine for March 1744, shortly after its first discovery. See 
the account of the remains in vol. xiv. of that miscellany, 
p. 139, copied in vol. i. of Camden's Britannia, by Gough ; 
Mr. Britton, (to whom Topography and Cathedral history and 
illustrations are so much indebted,) when quoting the same 
account, in the third volume of his " Beauties of Wiltshire," 
seems to have confused the parish church of Farley with 
that of the priory. The plate from the Archaeologia is 
also printed in Gough's Camden, vol. i. pi. xi. and in his 

2a2 



356 MODERN STATE 

of the other sepulchral memorials ; but the unique mo- 
nument before us had fortunately been removed from the 
power of the destroyers, having been transferred by Lord 
Webb Seymour, the owner of Farley, to the congenial 
shades of Lacock Abbey, where it is now carefully pre- 
served, but little injured by time or its long interment. 

We now resume the extracts from Mr. Witham : — 

" Near to the chapter-house is the vestry, or sacristy, 
with doors of communication to the church and cloisters ; 
there remain in it places for vesting, for chalices, and for 
the priests to wash their hands before and after mass, &c. 

" There is now a spacious terrace- walk on the ground 
where the church once stood. 

" The altar appears to have been placed to the east. 
The church has no aisles, and was very long, which leads 
me to suppose that the Nuns' choir was behind the altar, 
as we find in several monasteries of women, to keep them- 
selves more sequestered from the public. Next to the 
choir was the altar ; then the body of the church, which 
was in general for the use and accommodation of the Lay 
Sisters, and others who might occasionally visit the church 
for the convenience of hearing prayers. Adjoining to the 
church was the treasury, in the lower part of the tower, 
where there are several recesses for the convenience of 
laying up their best and most precious church furni- 
ture, &c. 

" The north wall of the church is still standing, with 
marks of arches and windows, filled up with stone and 
mortar. On the top of this wall two persons may walk 
abreast, between two strong stone rails, and command 
very picturesque views of Bowden Park, Lackham House, 
and a fine fertile country, terminated by the downs. 



Sepulchral Monuments, vol. i. pi. iv. Though Mr. Gough 
afterwards heard of the original being at Lacock, he appears 
never to have seen it, nor to have obtained a correct copy. 



OF LACOCK ABBEY. 357 

a The middle chamber of the tower is reserved by the 
family as a repository for their writings, and other va- 
luables, amongst which is the Magna Charta of King 
Henry III. of inestimable value, being the only perfect 
one in the kingdom, owing to the accident which hap- 
pened to that of Durham, — it is in breadth twelve inches 
and three quarters, and in length (including the fold) 
twenty inches and a half ; the seal is of green wax pendant 
by a skein of green silk, rather broken off in two edges. 
It has the following endorsement upon it, in a contem- 
porary hand : 

" Ex deposito militum Wilteshir Henrici Regis filii 
Johannis Regis, de libertatibus et quibusdam consuetudine- 
bus per Angliam constitutis. 

" This charter seem to have been designed for the use 
of the knights and military tenants in Wiltshire, and to 
have been deposited for that purpose in the monastery of 
Lacock by the Foundress Ela, Countess of Sarum, whose 
husband William Longespe was Sheriff of Wiltshire from 
15th of John till his death, 10 Henry III. (during which 
period this charter was granted), and Ela herself executed 
the same office in the two succeeding years.* 

* " The Magna Carta of 9 Henry III. under seal, from which 
Blackstone printed a copy in his edition of the Charters, and 
which he suggested was the Charter designed for the use of the 
Knights, or Military Tenants of Wiltshire, is still preserved by 
the family of the Talbots of Lacock Abbey, in that county." 
First General Report of the Commissioners on Public Records, 
p. 97. There is a copy of the Magna Carta of King John 
among the records of the Dean and Chapter at Salisbury 
(though it was overlooked when search was made by order of 
the Commissioners), — " apparently written by the same hand 
as that which has been engraved." Dodsworth's Salisbury 
Cathedral, p. 202. 



358 MODERN STATE 

" The hall is a noble structure, in length 48 feet, in 
breadth 30 feet, and in height 32 feet. Its lofty ceiling 
is of stucco, adorned with the arms of many noble fami~ 
lies. Several niches are occupied by images of figures in 
composition work, executed by a foreign artist, emblema- 
tical of the foundation of the Abbey, and the family of the 
noble Foundress." 

These we do not admire so much as Mr. Witham ; 
but he should here have noticed that the windows are 
66 richly dight " with stained glass, principally consisting 
of old armorial coats of the family of Hungerford. 

" The visitor is next conducted into the dining-parlour, 
which from its size and proportion is esteemed inferior to 
no room in the county ; its dimensions being 32 feet by 
28, and 18J in height. In this room are several well exe- 
cuted paintings ; and amongst them one of King Charles 
the First, by Vandyck ; and another of Henry VIII. by 
Holbein. There is also a large sideboard of verde an- 
tique, 7 feet 3 inches in length, and 3 feet 5 inches in 
breadth. 

" The picture-gallery contains the family portraits. 

i( The library is over the vestry, and contains many 
valuable and scarce books, both ancient and modern. 

" What is at present called the stone gallery seems to 
have been the Dormitory, or perhaps the common work- 
ing-room, for the Nuns. It is now divided the whole 
length on the west side into bed-chambers ; the east side 
is a long and convenient gallery with painted glass in the 
windows. 

" There are some ancient chairs, said to have been part 
of the camp furniture of King Charles the Second. Also 
a prodigiously large pair of elk or moose-deer horns, much 
admired by the curious for their magnificent appearance/ ' 



OF LACOCK ABBEY. 359 

One of the bed-chambers at Lacock is still remembered 
as that which was fitted up for the reception of Queen 
Elizabeth. This was in the year 1574 : when the Virgin 
Queen was also at Longleat and Wilton 5* and it is most 
probable that it was on this occasion that she knighted 
her host, Sir Henry Sherington, who is recorded to have 
obtained that honour in the same year. 

During the Civil War, Lacock House was garrisoned 
for the King, and was taken by the opposite party shortly 
after Cromwell had won Devizes, in Sept. 1645. The 
following announcement of the event is from a contempo- 
rary newspaper called The True Informer, Numb. 23, for 
Sept. 27, 1645 : 

" Lacock House in Wiltshire is surrendered to Colonel 
Devereux, Governour of Malmsbury, his forces, and other 
forces before it : and the Governour and Souldiers therein are 
marched forth, and our forces in possession of it, with all the 
armes and ammunition therein. The conditions of the surren- 
der were to this effect : 

1. That the Governour, Officers, and Souldiers shall march 
forth with their armes, to a garrison of the enemies'. 

2. That the House, with all the armes, ammunition, and 
provisions in it be surrendered to the Parliament's forces." 

On the receipt of the news, the House of Commons 
made an " Order on Sept. 26, for the Ministers the next 
Lord's day, to give thanks to God for the good success of 
the Parliament's forces in Pembrokeshire, at the Devizes, 
and Lacock House/'f 

The lord of Lacock had been himself taken prisoner in 
the previous March: "Mr. Sherington Talbot and Mr. 
Dowdeswell, Commissioners of Array in Worcestershire, 
were taken and sent up to London."]: 

* See "Nichols's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, i. 408, and 
Preface, p. xviii. 

f Whitelocke's Memorials. J Ibid. p. 130. 



300 



THE NUNS BOILER. 



Near the house is a square piece of water, which is 
evidently the successor of the capacious monastic fish- 
ponds. At one end of this water is now stationed, upon 
a pedestal, the large metal pot called the Nuns' Boiler, 
which, when seen by Stevens, remained in the kitchen. 
On the exterior of this massive vessel is the following 
inscription : 

" A PETRO WAGHUENS IN MECHLINIA EFFUSUS FAC- 
TUSVE FUERAM, ANNO MILLESSIMO QUINGENTESSIMO. 
DEO L.AUS ET GLORIA CHRISTO. 
54 I was molten or made by Peter Waghuens, of Mechlin, in 

the year 1500. Praise be to God and glory to Christ." 

This vessel, thus placed, remains the last relic and me- 
mento of the charities of the former inmates of Lacock 
Abbey ; and on the pedestal of this hallowed but some- 
what grotesque monument of ancient beneficence, I now 
deposit my historical and recording Pen. 




361 



LAST VISIT TO OLD SARUM, WITH CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

It was on the 16th day of February, — having 
completed the last sheets of this long story of 
other days, I stood on the summit of the silent 
mound of Old Sarum, the eventful scene of much 
of this history. I stood on the site, as it is con- 
ceived, of Edward the Sheriff's Castle, recalling 
the names, and characters, and events, of a distant 
age, when, on this spot, a City shone, with its 
Cathedral, and its Norman Castle, lifting their pin- 
nacles and turrets above the clouds ; and here, on 
this majestic and solitary eminence, the Regal form 
of the stern Conqueror, his mailed Barons, the 
the grey-haired and mitred Osmund, who had ex- 
changed his sword for a crozier — and young 
Edward, ancestor of the Foundress of Lacock, 
seemed as shadows, to pass before me, followed 
by the crowned Troubadour — Richard of the 
" Lion's Heart " — his heroic Brother, William of 
the " Long Sword ;" and ELA his bereaved 
and pious Widow, pale, placid, and tearful, the 
Foundress of that Abbey whose Annals we have 
been the first, thus distinctly, to relate. 

I turned my eyes, and beheld the vast and solitary 
plains below, stretching on every side, like Ocean — 
To the north-west, hid only by an intervening ele- 



362 VIEW FROM OLD SARUM. 

vation of the Downs, Stonehenge, " wonder of 
ages," was still sitting in her sad glory, to which 
most ancient Temple of the Sun it might he con- 
ceived the Bards, descending in procession, whilst 
it was yet dark, on solemn festivals, from the sacred 
hill of Salisbury,* and joining in the open space, 
between the vast forests,"^ struck their harps in ac- 
claim, as the mighty object of their adoration slowly 
ascended above the eastern hills. 

To the west, south-west — east, and north-east — 
strode on, in a direct line, over hill and vale, with 
traces, after fifteen centuries, distinct as yesterday — 
the four mighty Roman Roads, here meeting as 
in a centre. Immediately on our right, a little 
below the mound on which the Norman banner 
floated from the aerial keep of the Citadel, we J 
marked the site of the ancient and vanished Cathe- 
dral, § the foundations of whose walls, owing to the 
dryness of last summer, were discovered, of which 

* Solis-bury. See Davies's Celtic Antiquities, " hill of 
bards." 

f Namely, of Clarendon, united with the New Forest, and 
extending to the sea — the vast woody track of Cranbourne 
Chace— Great Ridge — Groveley, &c. 

+ The Rev. Mr. Skinner, Rector of Camerton, Somerset, 
(who has proved, we think beyond all doubt, that the district 
surrounding that parish was the site of the ancient Camalodu- 
num,) Archdeacon Macdonald, and Mr. Hatcher, author of a 
late History of these scenes, " Old and New Sarum." 

§ Built between 1078 and 1091, consecrated 1092, demo- 
lished 1332. 







at 



FLAN 

of-tfhe 

CATHEDRAL 

XtttOXtb b# 
JflfATCTWH ', 

183 4. 



1. "Baptistry 

2. -Galilee 

3. LairfcTri 

4. Ckon: 

5. High Altar 

6. Chapter House 
/. Treasury k 

8 Sacristy 



?uih>hed }y J$. Jfich oh' k Son .Tecrlia mentSc 



StAnJutfe t l.tmi* . Ut*e.7T, CornJiXi. 



CATHEDRAL OF OLD SARUM. 



363 



the outlines, exactly as they appeared, are here given, 
from a sketch taken on the spot in Sept. 1834.* 



-5^.—-..^..^ 




Towards the east, anciently appeared the bat- 
tlements of Clarendon Palace ; to the south-west, is 
the field of tournament, of which the chivalrous Cceur 
de-Lion appointed five in England; to the east and 
south-east, crowning the further heights, the camps, 
occupied by the Belgic invaders, in their progress 
to the Severn, still seem'd to awe the surrounding 
country ; whilst a series of barrows terminated the 
view, until their forms were lost in the distance. 

But the most interesting sight remained. On the 
left, surmounting the towers and lesser spires, 
the houses, and smoke, of the City of the Living, 
shone the aerial spire of the Cathedral of New 
Sarum, with the morning sun on its elfin shaft ; 
and could we be insensible to the thought, that 

* By Miss Ryland. 



364 SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. 

within those walls the sacred rites of Christian 
worship, with a purer and more scriptural service, 
had been uninterruptedly kept up — save in the 
short intervening space of the fanatical repub- 
lick — for six hundred years, as duly and solemnly 
as when the youthful Henry, and his Justiciary, 
Hubert de Burgh, offered their gifts on the Altar ?* 
with this difference, indeed, that the plain sacra- 
mental bread had succeeded the Elevation of the 
Host, an emblem derived from the ancient Dru- 
idical worship of the sun, on its first elevation 
above the horizon P-f- And could we forget that the 
plain open Word of God, the white amice, the 
decent forms, had succeeded the pompous cere- 
monial and pageantry of Popish rites ; whilst the 
children of the choir, instead of tossing to and fro 
their censers, with the words in Latin, repeated 
by rote. " mea culpa, mea maxima culpa," now, 

* When this subject was before noticed (p. 133) it was 
omitted to be mentioned, that Hubert de Burgh's offering re- 
mained with the Church of Salisbury, as one of its greatest 
treasures, until 1536, when, in an inventory of the jewels, &c. 
belonging to the church, occurs : (i A Text after John, gilt 
with gold, and having precious stones and the relicks of 
dyvers seynts. Ex dono Huberti de Burgh, Justiciarii Domini 
Regis Henrici HI." Antiq. Sarisb. p. 201. 

f The emblem is therefore round, surrounded with a blaze 
of jewellery, as rays of the luminary which it represented. 
This might be called, indeed, the " ancient faith ! ! " as the 
early corruptions of the Christian creed have been absurdly 
called. 



CONCLUSION. 365 

after the chant, are seen, bending their heads over 
their Bibles, as the lesson for the day is read, 
presenting one of the most interesting sights of 
the Protestant, or rather purer Catholic Church. 

To return to the desolate hill. No human crea- 
ture was in sight, save some poor women gathering 
sticks among the thorns of the ramparts. A few 
sheep were bleating in the foss. The rivers Nadder 
and Avon were seen tranquilly meandering in the 
nether vale; whilst the solitary tree, in an adjoining 
meadow, under which, for centuries, the burgesses 
for this antient City had been elected, — now with 
its bare trunk seemed to resemble its fortune. 

I descended, musing on the events which a new 
Parliament, under new auspices, might bring forth, 
either for good or for evil ; perhaps in the end 
destined to leave the present Cathedral as de- 
solate as the former ! — These events are in the 
hand of God ; be ours submission and prayers. 

Salisbury, Feb. 19, 1835. 



366 



STONEHENGE. 



I make no apology for taking this opportunity of publishing 
my final sentiments * on this mysterious structure. That it is 
Druidical, a vast Temple raised to the Sun, the second Deityf 
of the Celtic mythology, seems now to be the universal opinion. 

I have already stated my conviction that the inner circle of 
sienite is the original temple, the greater sarsen circle being the 
addition of the Belga?, who also worshipped the Sun. 

But the circumstance I am about to mention seems still more 
decisive as to the designation of this mysterious erection. A 
black stone was, of old, held sacred to the Sun ; see Gibbon, 
in the Chapter relating to the Emperor Heliogabalus. It was 
lately suggested by Mr. J. Stoughton Money, (a very young 
man, but devoted to antiquarian pursuits, in the morn of 
ingenuous youth,) that the stone called the Altar Stone at 
Stonehenge, is Hack, different from the granite, and from 
those of the inner circle also. 

A small piece of one of the stones of the inner circle, when 
polished, has been ascertained, from competent authority, 
to be a variety of sienite rock which now bears the name of 
diorite, being a mixture of fine particles of hornblende and 
compact feldspar ■ the former of various shades of green, 
from lighter than the specimen in question to greenish black, 
or even quite black, as in the gigantic Scarabaeus in the British 
Museum ; the latter white, or more or less tinged by the 
colouring matters of the green hornblende. There are some 
Egyptian statues of exactly the same substance." This is a 
singular fact, when the monkish tradition is that these stones 
were brought from Africa! 

As Avebury and Stonehenge were raised to Mercury and 
the Sun, and as their two great Promontories — Mercurii et 
Apollinis, are marked in ancient maps of Africa, so to these 
two Deities the ancient cities of Baal-bech, and Tadmor, in the 
Desert, were raised. The authors of the Ancient History con- 
ceived that Tadmor meant the same as the Latin Palmyra. I 
contend that Tadmor was the city so called from the ^Egyptian 
Thoth, — Tad 3 in opposition to Baal-bech, the city of the Sun; 
Tadmor having been built by Solomon when an idolator of the 
Gods of iEgypt, being married to Pharoah's daughter. 

* See the " History of Bremhill," and " Hermes Britan- 
nicus," by the Author. 

f As the larger and more ancient Temple, at Avebury, in 
my opinion, was raised to the first and greater deity of the 
Celts — Thoth, or Mercury. 



367 



ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA. 

Page 12, line 2, for*' the" read these. 

P. 21, line 14, for " now " read afterwards. 

P. 30, line 11, for ** youngest " read eldest ; and erase the note 
for the reasons stated in p. 102. 

P. 31, line 14, erase the words " daughter of Tirrel de 
Mainers" (see p. 97). 

P. 53, for " Newmarch" read Neufmarche ; and for " Brenne- 
ville" read Brenmule. In the early MSS. of Ordericus Vitalis, 
in the library at Alencon, the reading is Brenmula j the termi- 
nation of ville would not be apposite to the locality, as described 
by the historian: « Prope montem qui Guercliva nuncupatur, 
liber campus est, et latissima planities, quae ab incolis Brenni- 
mula vocitatur." 

P. 55. A reconsideration of the record relating to the widow 
of Edward of Salisbury, combined with some further evidence 
that has been more recently discovered, has led to the conclusion 
that there must have been a second person of that name. It is 
at least certain that Walter de Salisbury was the son of the 
Domesday Edward by another marriage, or his descendants 
would have inherited the fief of Rairnes, instead of its devolving 
on Stuteville. But when we find the widow given to a second 
husband — Pagan de Hocton — so late as 1131, it appears im- 
probable that she should have been the wife of a person who 
was Sheriff of Wiltshire at the Domesday survey, forty-rive years 
before. 

A connection, however, is perceptible between the Edward of 
Salisbury who married the heiress of Raimes, and the Norman 
stock of Roumare ; as he occurs as a benefactor to the Abbey of 
St. George of Bocherville, the foundation of Ralph de Tancarville, 
the presumed brother, as noticed in p. 69, of Robert Filz 
Girold of Domesday Book, and Edward of Salisbury the Sheriff. 

From the cartulary of Bocherville, in the Public Library at 
Rouen, Mr. Stapleton transcribed two charters, by the former of 

2 B 



368 ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 

which " Edwardus de Salesberiis" gave the monks certain serfs 
and their rents; which, by a second charter of Robert de 
Estotevill, made at the request of Leonia his wife, are recognized 
as 50s. rent, " in hospitibus de Ramis." It appears from the 
" Description de la Haute Normandie," vol. i. p. 492, that the 
fief in the Pays de Caux, including the parishes of St. Vigor de 
Vimerville, Guillerville, &c, the manor-house of which was in the 
parish of Gomerville, went by the name of Ramis;* and in 1343 
a descendant of Estoteville, or Stuteville, founded a chapel in 
honour of the Virgin " au manoir de Ramies." The Roger de 
Ramis of Domesday Book, the possessor of the fief, had evidently 
transferred his surname, taken from his caput baronia in Essex, 
to his Norman manor-house and its demesne. 

The name of Edward of Salisbury attests the foundation 
charters of the Cistercian abbey of Savigny in Normandy in the 
year 111*2. 

The precise relationship of Leonia de Stuteville, and the other 
parties mentioned in pp. 55-6, to Edward of Salisbury, the 
Domesday Sheriff, it is not easy to determine ; but in its future 
consideration it will be well to bear in mind the descent of the 
barony of Rayne or Ramis. 

Alicia de Tany was the daughter of William fitz Jocelin, or 
Gozeline, who was living in 1165 (Liber Niger), and was mar- 
ried, not to Graelent de Tany, but to Picot de Tany, who 
died about 1180, leaving five sons, of whom the eldest was aged 
20 in 1185, and two daughters (Rot. de Dom. pp. 39, 46). 

Of Leonia de Stuteville nothing more has been found than is 
already noticed in p. 56. 

With respect to the widow of Edward of Salisbury (the 
younger ?) who was married secondly to Pagan de Hocton, 
it may be remarked, that among the charters of Ouston Abbey, 
is one of Matilda the daughter of Pagan de Hocton, and so 
probably her daughter ; and another by which Robert Grimbald 

* In the feodaryof Philip Augustus, compiled in 1220 (Bibl. 
Reg. Paris, 8408), is this entry : " Item, p'd'c'us Henricus (de 
Estotevill) tenet Wimmonvillc et Gillarvill in Audebertot de 
feodo de Raimes." 



ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 369 

granted the land which William de Hocton had in Duninton, 
co. Lincoln, Matilda his widow giving her consent. This seems 
to be the same Matilda, daughter of Pagan ; she had probably 
married a person who assumed the name of herself and her 
land 5 but there is no proof that she was the wife of Robert 
Grimbald, as assumed in the title given to her charter in the 
Monasticon. 

The proper arrangement of these several parties must be left 
to the discovery of further evidence. 

P. 60, line 4, for " 1071" read 1093. 

P. 89, line 19, for (< and leaving" read I leave. 

P. 95, last line, for " 1197 " read 1196. 

P. 132. In this page it is stated to be unknown whether 
Reimund de Burgh found another lady to accept him after his 
rejection by the lady Ela Countess of Salisbury. His wife has 
since been discovered ; and it is very remarkable thai she proves 
to be another dowager Countess ; obtained, doubtless, through 
the persevering provision of his uncle, the potent Justiciary. 
This was Christiana, widow of William Mandevi lie Earl of Essex, 
who died in 1227, only two years after the Earl of Salisbury.* 
£he was the daughter of Robert Lord Fitz- Walter, and sister to 
that Walter Fitz-Robert who married Ida Longespe, the youngest 
daughter of the Countess Ela. 

Ela Countess of 

Salisbury. =p 

r ' r t 



Ida Longespe.= W r alter Christiana = Reimund 

Fitz- Countess 

Robert. of Essex. 



Fitz- Countess de Burgh. 



Morant, in his History of Essex (quoting Plac. il Hen. III. 
rot. 16), states that, the manor of Alfethestun, in the parish of 

* Dugdale (Baronage, vol. L p. 205) has made Christiana the 
second Countess of a Former Earl William de Mandeville, two 
generations higher, who died in 1190, thirty-seven years before • 
and in p. 706 says that the Earl who died in 1227 had no wife ; 
but, independently of Reimund de Burgh, this is improbable ; 
for her grandfather died in 119S; her father in 1234; and her 
brother lived until 1257, after marrying, as shown above, a 
daughter of Ela Countess of Salisbury. 



370 



ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 



Great Dunraow, was granted to Reimund de Burgh about the 
year 1226. On the 10th of April, 1231, King Henry the Third 
confirmed to the Maison Dieu at Dover, which was a foundation 
of Hubert de Burgh, (inter alia) 100s. rent from the manor of 
Dersyngham, which that hospital had of the gift of Christiana de 
Mandeville, Countess of Essex. 

The projected marriage of Reimund de Burgh with the 
Countess Ela of Salisbury, might have proved a parallel with 
that which King John forced on Margaret the mother of Bald- 
win Earl of Devon. That dowager lady was given to John's 
successful general and cruel dispenser of the fire and the sword, 
Falkes de Breant, whom Matthew Paris terms (< that impious, 
ignoble, and base-conditioned man;" — a marriage, adds the 
monkish chronicler, on which these lines were written : 

Lex connectit eos, amor, et concordia lecti, 
Sed lex qualis ? amor qualis ? concordia qualis ? 
Lex exlex ; amor exosus j concordia discors ! 

P. 136. Though a difference of nine years will scarcely affect 
the spirit of the remark made in this page, alluding to the epis- 
copal effigy in Salisbury cathedral, which has been generally 
attributed to Bishop Poore ; it may be worth while to put forth 
the suggestion, that the monument in question in all probability 
does not belong to that prelate, but to his successor, Bishop 
Bingham, who died in 1246, and was buried at the north side of 
the altar, which was the situation of this monument. Bishop 
Poore did not die Bishop of Salisbury, but was translated to 
Durham ; expiring at the monastery he had founded at his 
native village of Tarrent, in Dorsetshire, his heart was buried 
there, but his body was carried (as was then customary with 
those of Bishops) to his own cathedral of Durham, where it was 
interred in the Chapter-house. 

P. 148. Richard, the younger son of William Longespe II, by 
Idonea, daughter of Richard de Camville, appears to have had a 
part of his mother's inheritance in Somersetshire. Collinson, in 
his History of that county, vol. ii. p. 358, quotes from Rawlin- 
son's MSS. : " Jste Will'us Longespee habuit exitum Ricardun 
Longcspee D'num de Charlton-Camville." 



ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 371 

P. 160. Erase the words "" son of William Basset, Chief Jus- 
tice of England," and refer to p. 325. 

P, 181. In the Annals of Nicholas Trivet, the translation of 
the Carthusians to Hinton is placed under 1227, and the founda- 
tion of Lacock under 1232. This is another testimony to the 
accounts which have been preferred in the text. The same annals 
also record the profession of the Foundress under 1236, instead 
of 1238, as in the Book of Lacock. t( Ela Saresburiensis 
Comitissa, spreto saculo, habitum Canonissarum apud Lakok 
accepit ; inter quas effecta est postea Abbatissa." 

P. 182. The names of Locus Dei, and Locus Beate Marie, 
given by the Earl and Countess of Salisbury to their monastic 
foundations, may be illustrated by some parallel instances. 
Foremost may be mentioned Godstow, which has the same sig- 
nification in Anglo-Saxon. There was another Locus Dei in the 
diocese of Rouen ; as aiso an Insula Dei on the river Andelle ; a 
Mons Dei in the diocese of Lisieux ; a Vallis Dei in the diocese 
of Seez, and a Vallis Dei at Bitham in Lincolnshire. The last 
was corrupted into Vaudey, as the French Mons Dei was into 
Mondaye. Rewley Abbey, near Oxford, was an abbreviation of de 
Regali Loco. In 1316, when Thomas Earl of Lancaster granted 
the monks of Whalley a new site, it was to be called the Locus 
Benedictus of Whalley. There was a monastic house named Vale 
St. Mary, in Cornwall ; one de Valle Crucis in Denbighshire ; 
and one de Valle Salutis, in Ireland. In Yorkshire was Mount- 
grace, and the same name of Gratiee Montis occurs in Bavaria. 

P. 186, line 7, read 31st of January, 1230. 

P. 187, line 10, for "Edingdon" read Heddington. 

P. 190, last line, for " or Leach of Eastleach in Gloucester- 
shire" read of Legh in Wiltshire, (see p. 309.) 

P. 191. The superior of the convent of Lacock before the lady 
Ela became the first Abbess, was the Prioress Wymarca. (see 
p. 278.) 

P. 222. In 1233, " Rex cinxit Thomam de Warewic cingulo 
Comitatus Warewic." Claus. Hen. III. in. 9. Dugdale (Baro- 
nage, i. 72.) states that this took place at the same time that 
" Willielmus Longesfe accingitui' gladio inilitari, sed non fit 



372 ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 

Comes Sarum." (MS. in Bodl. Lib. Cant. K. 84, f. 50 a). It was 
on occasion of the Whitsuntide feast, when the King held his 
court, or Parliament, at Gloucester ; and he also knighted, at the 
same time, Roger Bigot, Earl of Norfolk, and Hugh de Vere, 
Earl of Oxford. 

P. 230. I am informed by M. Michel, a literary gentleman 
who has been investigating the treasures of the libraries in Eng- 
land, under the patronage of the French government, and who 
corrected the orthography of the extract from the ancient poem 
given in p. 243, that Guillaume de Machaulr, in le dit de l'Alerion, 
King's MSS. Paris, no. 7609, p. 109, col. 2, relates an history of 
Louis IX. who gave to William Longuespee a white horse, 
with which he was much pleased. 

P. 255. After the news of William Longespe's death had arri- 
ved in England, his executors proceeded to the performance of 
his will, which had doubtless been prepared, as was customary, 
previous to his departure on the Holy voyage. On the 27th Sept. 
1250, the King directed his letters to Henry de Wengham, that 
he should permit the executors to have free administration of all 
the goods and chattels of the deceased, because Stephen Long- 
espe and Henry de Mare had given security for such debts as 
he might have owed to the King. And that Wengham should 
take into the King's hands the lands which were of the inheri- 
tance of Idonea the wife of the said William, that she might 
thenceforth take nothing from the issues of the said lands until 
she had come to the King, and done what of right she ought to 
do. And because the King had granted by his letters patent to 
the said William, that he might deliver to farm to whom he 
pleased, his manors of Albourn, Amesbury, Trowbridge, and 
Canford, from the feast of St. Michael in the King's 32d year, 
for the next four years complete, it was commanded to the said 
Henry that he should permit Henry de Mare, and the other 
farmers, to hold the said manors in peace, and in no respect to 
interfere with those manors during that term. (Rot. Claus. 34 
Hen. 111. m. 4.) Idonea, the widow, had seisin of the lands 
of her inheritance on the 14th Oct. following (Ibid. m. 3). 



ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 373 

P. 258. The effigy of William Longespe the Crusader is also 
engraved in Stothard's " Monumental Effigies." 

P. 355. Ilbert de Chaz held lands of the Bohuns in Nor- 
mandy as well as in England. Cats, the place from which he 
derived his name, is a parish in the arrondissement of St. Lo, 
and canton of Carentan. St. Georges and St. Andre de Bohon 
are parishes in the same canton. The following charter, from 
the cartulary of the neighbouring Abbey of Montbourg, has 
been communicated by Mr. Stapleton : 

" Notum sit omnibus presentibus et futuris quod ego Ilbertus 
de Caz do et concede in perpetuam elemosinam abbatie sVe 
Marie Montisburgi, ecclesiam de Caz, cum omnibus ad earn per- 
tinentibus, libere et quiete, pro salute anime mee et omnium an- 
tecessorum meorum, concedentibus domino meo Unfrido de 
Bohun, et nepotibus meis Willelmo de Greinvill et Bartholomeo 
le Bigot, et ut firma sit imperpetuum hsec donatio signo do- 
minice crucis hanc chartam confirmo et munio coram subscripts 
testibus, Ilberto -\- Unfrido de Bohun, Bartholomeo le Bigot, et 
multis aliis. (fol. 104.) 

The families of Greinville and Bigot succeeded to the inheri- 
tance of Ilbert at Cats. In the Cartulary, p. 105, follow char- 
ters from Adam de Greinvill, confirming to the Abbey of Mont- 
bourg the church of St. Gregory of Caz, " sicut earn prefate 
abbatie dedit Ilbertus de Caz antecessor meus ; " and from Wil- 
liam le Bigot, exchanging two pieces of land with the abbey in 
the parish of St. Gregory of Caz. The family of Magnevill had 
also a share or moiety in the advowson of the church of Caz, of 
the fee of Reviers. 



MARKET CROSS AT LACOCK. 

These pages must not be finally closed without recording the 
fate of a beautiful Cross, which stood in the market-place at 
Lacock from the days of the Abbey until a recent period. Its 
light and elegant shaft was destroyed about ten years ago, in 
order to furnish stone for erecting the village school- room ! A 
view of it is preserved in the Antiquarian and Topographical 
Cabinet, published in I SCO. 



374 



THE BOOK OF LACOCK. 

In the MS. Harl. 5019, f. 231, et seq. is a transcript of the 
historical narrative of the Book of Lacock, somewhat fuller than 
that printed in the Appendix. It is said to have been taken " Ex 
Hbro antiquo manuscripto membran' in custodia Johannis Stowe, 
1598;° consequently before the volume became the property of 
Sir Robert Cotton. Though the additional passages are not 
very important, yet, as it was our intention to print all that 
remained, they shall now be given. It appears to have com- 
menced with this notice of the Conquest : 

Anno ab incarnalione Domini milessimo sexagessimo sexto, 
Will'mus Bastardus cognomento Nothus, filius Roberti Ducis 
Normanise, fratris Emme matris Sti Edward i regis et Confessoris, 
qui per adoptionem S ti Edwardi erat haeres regni Angliae, sed 
Haroldus filius Comitis Godwini Cantie contra fidelitatem quam 
juraverat Will'o predicto ut duceret filiam ipsius, et ut reservaret 
regnum sibi Anglie post mortem S^ Edwardi, coronavit seipsum. 
WiU'o hoc audito, cum manu valida, stipat' militibus pluribus 
regnum Anglie invasit et subjugavit, ac Haroldus devicitur. 
Erat quidam, &c. (as in the first page of the Appendix.) 

In p. ii. line 8, for " et" this copy reads " id est" ; line 15, for 
"fertur" occurs " fortis'* ; in last line but two, " Norrnann. 
novem annis nutrita." 

After p. v ; 

Hie Edmondus frater regis Ed'i filii Henrici duxit in uxorem 
reginam Navarre, genuit ex ipsa prefatum Dom. Thomam here- 
dem suum, et alium filium Dom. Henricum de Lancastre 3 isti 
duo fratres, de stirpe regia progeniti, avunculi fuerunt regis 
Francie tunc temporis regnantis, et Regine Anglie Isabelle 
viventis. 

This last passage shows, that this portion at least of the nar- 
rative was compiled in the time of Queen Isabella, who died in 
1357. 



APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS. 



No. I. 

THE BOOK OF LACOCK. 

The following is the whole that is now known to be extant 
of what was called the Book of Lacock, the fate of which at 
the Cottonian fire is noticed in the Preface. These extracts 
have been preserved in Vincent's MSS. at the College of Arms. 

Comites Sarisburice. 

Erat quidam miles strenaus Normannus, Walterus le Ewrus, 
Comes de Rosmar, cui propter probitatem suam Rex Guil. 
Conq. dedit totum dominium de Saresburia et Ambresburia. 
Antequam iste Walterus le Ewrus in Angliam venit, genuit 
Geroldum, Comitem de Rosmar, ■* Mantelec, qui genuit Guillel- 
mum de Rosmar * le Gros, qui genuit Guil. de Rosmar le Mes- 
chyn, secundum, qui genuit Guillelmum, tertium de Rosmar, 
qui obiit sine liberis. 

Postquam Walterus le Ewrus genuit Edwardum, natione 
Anglicum natum, postea Vicecomitem Wiltes, qui habuit ux« 
orem de qua genuit quandam filiam nomine Matildam, quam 
postea Humphridus de Bohun duxit in uxorem, et quendam 
filium nomine Walterum de Saresburia. Iste Walterus de Sa- 
resburia duxit uxorem nomine Sibillam de Cadurcis, de qua 
genuit Patricium primum Comitem Sarum. 

[y. 18 £.] Idem W^alterus vero fundavit Prioratum de Bra- 
denstok, et constituit in eodem Deo perpetuo deservientes Ca- 
nonicos regulares ; qui post mortem uxoris induit tonsuram et 
habitum Canonicorum, et ibidem corpora eorum in uno tumulo 

* The important words between * * have been omitted in 
the Monasticon. In a brief extract in Brooke's " Second 
Discovery," we read t( Rosmar et Mantelec." 



11 THE BOOK OF LACOCK. 

collocantur juxta presbyterium. [quorum animae requiescunt 
in ccelo.*] Patricius vero, ejus Alius, genuit ex uxore sua 
Ela, Guillelmum Comitem Sarum. 

Guillelmus vero duxit Alianoram de Viteri, de qua genuit 
filiam unicam nomine Elam a» D'ni m.c.lxxx.viii. quae data 
est D'no Guillelmo Longespe, filio Regis Henrici secundi, 
cui D'nus Rex Ric'us reddidit Comitatum de Rosmar, sicut 
hasreditatem et jus haereditarium suum et ipsius Elae, quod 
sibi accessit et accidit de jure haereditario Edwardi de Saris- 
buria, filii Walteri de Ewrus. 

Guillelmus Longespe, ex praedicta Ela, liberos genuit quo- 
rum nomina sunt haec : ( 1 ) Guillelmus Longespe secundus, qui 
viriliter contra hostes Xp'i in Terra Sancta dimicans, ibidem 
pro nomine Jesu contumeliam patiens, vitam temporalem 
finiens, in Xp'o sine finevicturus, ut fertur, athleta Dei ad coeli 
palatium ao D'ni m cc.xl.ix. ascendit. [cujus animam domina 
Ela mater ipsius, tunc existens abbatissa de Lacock, vidit 
ccelos penetrans in stallo suo, et horam coeteris sororibus de- 
nuncians.*] Genuit etiam (2) Ricardum, qui fuit Canonicus 
Sarum, cujus corpus apud Lacock tumulatur ; (3) Stephanum 
Com' Ulton, cujus corpus apud Lacock humatum est, cor 
vero ejus apud Bradenestok optinet sepulturam ; et (4) Ni- 
cholaum, qui fuit Ep'us Sarum, cujus corpus apud Sarum tumu- 
latur, cor itaque ejus apud Lacock, viscera vero apud Ramis- 
beriam ■, (5) Isabellam de Vescy ; (6) Elam, quam duxit Comes 
Warwik, et postea Philippus Basset, quae remansit sterilis ; (7) 
Idam de Camyle,f quam duxit in uxorem Walterus filius Ro- 
berti, de qua genuit : Catarinam et Loricam, quae velatae erant 
apud Lacock • Elam, quam duxit primo Guillelmus de Do- 
dingseles, de qua genuit . . . . ; Robertum, qui Dernegoill . . . 

Ela ergo uxor Guillelmi Longespee primi nata fuit apud 
Ambresbiriam, patre et matre Normannorum. Pater itaque 
ejus defectus senio migravit ad Xp'm a° D'ni m.cxcvi. 
Mater ejus ante per biennium obiit ; quorum corpora apud 

* These passages are supplied from the Monasticon. 
t The words " de Camyle " are inexplicable, and perhaps 
'Mternolnfn^i 



THE BOOK OF LACOCK. Ill 

Bradenestok sunt tumulata juxta vestibulum ibidem sub lapide 
marmoreo. Interea D'na charissima Ela, patre et matre or- 
bata,* per cognatos et notos adducta fuit in Normanniam, et 
ibidem sub tuta et arcta custodia nutrita. Eodem tempore in 
Anglia fuit quidam miles nomine Guillelmus Talbot, qui induit 
«e habitum peregrini, in Normanniam transfretavit, et ibi mo- 
ratus per ii annos, hue atque illuc vagans ad explorandam Do- 
minam Elam Sarum. Et ilia inventa exuit habitum peregrini, 
et induit se quasi Cytharisator, et curiam ubi morabatur intravit, 
et, ut erat homo jocosus in gestis antiquorum valde peritus, 
ibidem gratanter fuit acceptus quasi familiaris. Et quando 
tempus aptum invenit, in Angliam repatriavit, habens secum 
istam venerabitem Dominam Elam, et haeredem Comitatus 
Sarum, et earn Regi Ricardo praesentavit. At ille laetissime earn 
suscepit, et fratri suo Guillelmo Longespe maritavit, per quam 
liberos subscriptos habuit, videlicet, Guillelmum Longespe se- 
cundum, Stephanum, Ricardum, Nicholaum, Isabellam Veisy, 
Petronillam quae obiit in virginitate et apud Bradenestok juxta 
latus aviae suae dextrum ibidem sepulta sub lapide marmoreo, 
Elam, et Idam. 

AoD'ni M.CC.XX.VI, D'nus Guillelmus Lungespe primus nonas 
Martii obiit, cujus corpus apud Sarum est humatum. Ela vero 
uxor ejus vii annis supervixit in viduitate, et proposuit autem 
sepius ut fundaret monasteria Deo placentia, pro salute animae 
suae et mariti sui, et omnium antecessorum suorum : quae per 
revelationes habuit utin prato testudinum, Anglice Snaylesmede, 
prope Lacock monasterium aedificaret in honorem Sanctae Mariae 
Sanctique Bernardi, et usque ad finem complevit sumptibus suis 
propriis, id est de Comitatu Sarum quod fuit haereditas sua. 
Fundavit etiam Prioratum de Henton ordinum Cartusise ; una 
die duo Monasteria fundavit, primo mane xvi kal. Maij ao 
m.cc.xxx.ii. apud Lacock, in quo sanctae degent Canonissae 
continuo Deo famulantes et devotissime ; et Henton, post 
nonam ; ao vero aetatis suae xlv. [Alicia Garinges apud Lacok 
prima Canonissa velata.f] Ao vii post fundationem domus 

* After this, in the Monasticon, a blank, and the word .... 
Dani. f Monasticon. 

a 2 



IV THE BOOK OF LACOCK. 

de Lacock, hoc est ao D'ni m.cc.xxx.viii., Domina Ela 
Lungespee, nobilis matrona, assumpsit habitum religionis apud 
Lacock, a° aetatis suae li. [viii. kal. Januarii, in suis et actibus 
et praepositis, omnibus perpetratis secundum consilium et aux- 
ilium S. Edmundi Cantuar. Archiepiscopi, et aliorum virorum 
discretorum semper seipsam indulgens *] A<> D'ni m.cc.xl. 
xviii kal. Septemb. confecta est D'na Ela Lungespe fun- 
datrix in Abbatissam primam de Lacock, a° vero aetatis 
suae liii. Ubi monasterium suum et gregein sibi commissum 
multis annis strenue gubernavit et Deo devotissime servivit, 
arctam vitam ducens, in jejuniis, in vigiliis, Sanctis meditationi- 
bus, et disciplinis assidue rigidis, ac aliis operibus bonis carita- 
tivis, decern et octo annis. Demum vero, cernens se senio et 
nimia debilitate affectam, cum non potuit ut voluit religioni 
suae prodesse, renunciavit et recusavit praeesse, et dum vixit 
Abbatissam praefecit nomine Beatricem de Cantia, pridie kal. 
Januarii a° m.cc.l.vii., a aetatis suae lxx. Sicque fere quinque 
annis post vixit sine omni cura libera; a° aetatis suae lxxiv, 
ix kal. Septemb. animam suam in pace optinens, requievit in 
D'no ao m.cc.lx.i. et in choro dicti monasterii decentissime 
tumulata. 

Sequitur de Guiil Longespee secundo, primogenito filio 
Guillelmi Lungespee primi. 

Guill: Lungespee secundus, genuit de Idonea Candoill 
(esset Camvile) uxore sua, Guill. Lungespee tertium, Ric'um, 
Elam, et Edmundum ; quam Elam duxit Jacobus de Audele, de 
qua genuit Guillelmum de Audele, qui submersus fuit apud 
Snowdoun in guerra Walliae, Nich'um de Audele, qui duxit 
Catharinam filiam Johannis Giffard, qui genuit Hugonem de 
Audele. f Lib. Lacock, fol. 19 b. 

* Supplied from the Monasticon. 

f The two eldest of the Jive sons of James Lord Audley are 
here omitted ; and Hugh, who is here made his grandson, was 
the youngest of the five; and it has been already stated in p. 148. 
is supposed to have been his only son by Ela Longespe. Per- 
haps we should read " qui genuit .....; Hugonem," &c. 



THE BOOK OF LACOCK. V 

De Stephano, 2JHio y et ejus sequela. 

Stephanus Lungespee sub rege H. iii. Justiciarius in Hy- 
bernia et Dominus capitalis erat ordinatus. Duxit in uxorem 
Emelinam Comiiissam de Ulton, per quam erat Comes de 
Ulton ; genuit ex ea (1) Elam de la Souch, quam duxit Ro- 
geius de la Souch, de qua Alanus de la Souch, qui duxit in 
uxorem Alianoram filiam Nicholai de Segrave, de qua genuit 
Elam, Matildam, Elizabetham; Rogerum delaSouche,*(2) Eme- 
linam, quae nupsit Mauritio filio Mauritii. Lib.Lacock,f. 19 b. 

De Guill. Lungespee tertio,Jilio Guillelmi secundi 
Lungespee primogenito. 

Guill: Lungespee tertius, Alius Guill: Lungespee secundi, 
duxit in uxorem Matildam filiam D'ni Walteri de Clifford, ex 
qua genuit unicam nobilissimam filiam Margaretam nupcupa- 
tam, et postea juvenis Comes obiit. Dicta vero Margareta 
nupsit illustrissimo viro D'no Henrico de Lacy, Comiti Lin- 
colniae, qui genuit ex ea Edmundum et Johannem de Lacy, 
qui viventibus patre et matre mortui sunt ; genuit etiam ex ea 
unam nobilissimam filiam Alesiam nuncupatam, quae heeres 
eorum nupsit egregio Comiti de Lancaster, Leicester, et de 
Ferrers, Thomse nuncupate, filio D'ni Edmundi fratris Regis 
Edwardi, filii Regis Henrici iii, et de hsereditate sua et uxoris 
suae quinque comitatus optinuit, viz. Com. Sarum et Lincoln 
et tres praenominatos. Aom.ccc.xx.i., undecem kal. AprilisD'nus 
Thomas illustrissimus Comes Lane, proditus et captus a pro- 
pria gente sua, et apud Pontem-fractum ductus, regnante tunc 
filio patrui sui scilicet Edvvardo nobili rege Anglise filio illustris 
regis Edwardi, et in castro suo proprio apud Pontem-fractum 
pro justitia et jure regni Justus et innocens morti adjudicatus 
est, et cum eo quamplures nobiles Angliae. Ex Lib. I. acock, 
foliis 19 et 20. 

* The words Ci Rogerum dc la Souche " seem superfluous, 
or misplaced. 



VI 



No. II. 

CHARTER OF THE COUNTESS ELA FOUNDING THE 
PRIORY OF HINTON CHARTERHOUSE 

(See page 173 J 

[Cart. 12 Hen. III. m. 4, per Inspeximus.] 

Universis sanctae Matris Ecclesiae filiis ad quos praesens scrip- 
turn pervenerit, Ela Comitissa Sarr. aeternam in Domino 
salutem. 

Noverit universitas vestra quod dominus meus et quondam 
maritus Willielmus Longespee Comes Sarr. volens construere 
domum ordinis Chartusiae, per assensum meum et bonam vo- 
luntatem, donavit ordini Chartusiae manerium de Atherop in 

et boscum suum de Bradene cum integritate sua, et 

terram de Cheleworth quam habuit ex dono Henrici Basset, 
ut ibi manerent tam monachi quam fratres ad serviendum Deo 
imperpetuum secundum consuetudinem et ordinem Chartus. 
Set quia monachi et fratres ad locum ipsum destinati, licet 
stetissent ibi per plures annos, non potuerunfinvenire in prae- 
dictis tenementis locum ordini suo competentem, ego volens 
intuitu Dei perficere quod praedictus maritus meus bene in- 
ceperat, in ligia potestate et viduitate mea, post mortem ipsius, 
et pro anima ipsius, et pro anima Comitis Willielmi patris mei, 
et pro salute mea et puerorum meorum, et pro animabus om- 
nium antecessorum et haeredum meorum, donavi et concessi et 
hac carta mea confirmavi ordini Chartusiae, in escambium prae- 
dictorum tenementorum, totum manerium meum de Henton 
cum advocatione ecclesiae et parco et omnibus aliis pertinenciis 
suis sine ullo retinemento inde michi et haeredibus meis. Et 
similiter totum manerium meum de Norton cum advocatione ec- 
clesice et omnibus aliis pertinentiis suis, sine ullo retinemento 
michi et haeredibus meis: reservatis tamen michi et haeredibus 
meis serviciis militaribus omnium illorum qui de me tenent in 



FOUNDATION CHARTER OF HINIo^. VU 

prsedictis maneriis per servicium railitare; Excepto servicio 
Ricardi parcarii et haeredum suorum de j. virgata terra quam 
tenet in Henton, quod servicium pertinebit in perpetuum ad 
praedictos monaehos etfratres, sive praedictus liicardus defendat 
praedictam virgatam terrae per custodiam parci, vel per ser- 
vicium militare ; et etiam salvis michi et haeredibus meis kachiis 
forincesis, quae sunt extra terminos praedictorum maneriorum ; 
Ad fundandam, construe n dam, et in perpetuum sustentandam 
quandam Domum ordinis Chartusice, in honore Dei et beatae 
Marias et sancti Johannis Baptiste, et omnium Sanctorum, in 
parco de Henton, in loco qui vocatur locus Dei. Habendum 
et tenendum in puram et perpetuam elemosinam monachis et 
fratribus ibidem Deo servientibus secundum consuetudinem et 
ordinem ecclesie Chartusiae. Et ego et haeredes mei waranti- 
zabimus praedictis monachis et fratribus praedicta tenementa 
cum pertinentiis, contra omnes gentes, et defendemus eos de 
omnibus serviciis et consuetudinibus et secularibus demandis. 
Et ut hec donatio, concessio, et confirmatio mea rata et stabilis 
inperpetuum permaneat, earn presentis scripti testimonio, et 
sigilli mei impressione corroboravi. Hiis Testibus : Domino 
Joscelino Bathonensi episcopo, domino R. Sarr. episcopo, ma- 
gistro Edmundo de Abendon thesaurario Sarr., magistro Elia 

de Derham canonico Sarr., Reginaldo de tunc vie. 

Wiltesir., Bartb. de Turbervill, Willielmo Gereberd, Waltero 
de Paviij , Johanne Gereberd, Baldewino filio Willielmi tunc 
senescallo comitis Sarr., Michaele de Cheldrinton, Willielmo 
de Burneford, Nicholas de Hedinton clerico, Rogero Lond. . . . 



V11I 



No. III. 

ABSTRACT OF THE CARTULARY OF LACOCK ABBEY, 

Now in the possession of Henry Fox Talbot, Esq. in the 

Record Turret at Lacock. 

(From Stevens's Monasticon, Appendix, pp. 355-366.^ 



Carta Fundationis Abbatics de Lacock jier Elam Comitissam. 

Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Ela Comitissa Sarum, 
pro Deo et pro anima Comitis Willielmi Longespe mariti mei, 
et omnium antecessorum suorum et meorum, et pro salute mea 
et Willielmi Longespeie filii mei primogeniti, et omnium alio- 
rum liberorum meorum et heredum meorum, in viduitate et 
ligia potestate mea, dedi et concessi et presenti carta mea 
confirmavi Deo et beate Marie et sancto Bernardo, Manerium 
meum de Lacock cum advocatione Ecclesie ejusdem manerii 
et cum omnibus pertinentiis suis et libertatibus et liberis con- 
suetudinibus in omnibus locis et in omnibus rebus sine aliquo 
retinemento, ad faciendam ibidem Abbathiam monialium quam 
volo nominari locum beate Marie. Quare volo ut Abbatisse 
et moniales ibidem Deo imperpetuum serviture habeant et te- 
neant totum predictum Manerium cum pertinentiis suis in 
liberam, puram, et perpetuam elemosinam, solutum penitus et 
quietum ab omni seculari servicio pertinente ad dominum Re- 
gem et Ballivos suos et ad me et ad heredes meos, et ab omni 
modo servicii et exactionis quocumque casu possit exigi de 
terra ilia. Et ego Ela et heredes mei warantizabimus, de- 
fendemus, et acquietabimus prefatis monialibus totum prefatum 
manerium cum advocacatione Ecclesie et omnibus aliis perti- 
nenciis suis ita liberum et quietum sicut aliqua elemosina libe- 
rius dari potest versus omnes homines et feminas imperpetuum. 
Hiis testibus : Huberto de Burgo, comite Cancie, Justiciario 
Anglie, Willielmo Marcscallo comite Pembroke, Willielmo de 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. IX 

Warrene comite Surreye, Petro filio Herberti, Hugone de 
Nevile, Radulfo filio Nicholai senescallo Domini Regis, Johanne 
Daco, Henrico de Albenaco, et multis aliis. 

Hcec charta habetur in Monast. Vol. c 2&?.p. 342; hie autem 
inseritur eo quod hie Jit mentio de Sancto Bernardo, qui in Mo 
exemplari non nominatur. [Stevens.] 



Alia Carta ejusdem Ela Comitissce. 

[Fol. 1, b.] 

Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Ela Comitissa Sarum, 
pro Deo et pro aniina Comitis Willelmi Longespeie mariti 
mei et omnium antecessorum suorum et meorum, et pro salute 
mea et Willelmi Longespeie filii mei primogeniti et omnium 
aliorum liberorum meorum et heredum meorum, inviduitate et 
ligia potestate mea, dedi et concessi et presenti carta mea con- 
firmavi Deo et beate Marie et sancto Bernardo et sanctimo- 
nialibus apud Lacock Deo servientibus manerium meum de 
Lacock cum advocatione ecclesie ejusdem manerii et cum 
omnibus pertinenciis suis, et manerium de Hatherop cum om- 
nibus pertinentiis suis, et manerium de Bissopestre cum omni- 
bus pertinenciis suis, et medietatem manerii de Hedrington 
cum omnibus pertinenciis suis, que me contingunt per finalem 
concordiam inter Humfridum de Boun et me in curia Domini 
Regis factam de honore de Treubrigge ; et advocacionem ec- 
clesie de Winterbourn Syreveton; cum omnibus libertatibus et 
liberis consuetudinibus in omnibus locis et in omnibus rebus 
sine aliquo retinemento. Quare volo quod moniales apud La- 
cok Deo imperpetuum serviture habeant et teneant tota pre- 
dicta maneria in liberam, puram, et perpetuam elemosinam, 
soluta penitus et quieta ab omni seculari servicio pertinente ad 
dominum Regem et Ballivos suos, et ad me et ad heredes meos, 
et ab omni modo servicii et cxactionis quocunque casu possit 
exigi de dietis terris. Et ego Ela et heredes mei warrantiza- 



X CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

bimus, defendemus, et acquietabimus prefatis monialibus tota 
prefata Maneria cum dictis advocationibus Ecclesiarum, de 
Winterbourn Shreueton scilicet et Lacok, et cum omnibus 
aliis pertinentiis suis, ita libera et quieta sicut aliqua elemosina 
liberius dari potest, contra omnes homines et feminas imperpe- 
tuum. Hiis Testibus : Domino Waltero de Godarvile, Thoma 
de Ebelesbourn, Nicholao Malemains, Ada rectore de Gates- 
den, Ricardo Longespeye, Johanne de Moul, magistro Rogero 
de Stokes, domino Rogero de Baskervile, Petro de Salceto, 
domino Petro persona de Treubrigge, Philippo de Depeford 
clerico, Thoma Makerel clerico, Roberto de Holte clerico, 
et aliis. 



Willielmus Longespeye confirmat Donationem. Ela matris suae. 
[Fol. 2, a.] 

Universis sancte Matris Ecclesie filiis ad quos presens scrip- 
turn pervenerit, Willielmus Longespeye salutem in Domino. 
Noverit universitas vestra nos cartam venerabilis matris nostre 
Ele Comitisse Sarum in hiis verbis inspexisse. (Hie repetit 
primam Cartam dicta Comitisste de xwrbo ad verbum, sicut superius, 
et deinde procedit in hcec verba.) Hanc igitur donationem et 
concessionem ratam et gratam habentes, earn, sicut carta dicte 
Ele matris nostre testatur, presenti pagina sigilli nostri im- 
pressione munita, confirmavimus. Hiis Testibus : Huberto de 
Burgo comite Cancie, Justiciario Anglie, Willelmo comite 
Pembroke, Willelmo de Warenne comite Surreye, Petro filio 
Herberti, Hugone de Nevile, Radulfo filio Nicholai senescallo 
Domini Regis, Johanne Daco, Henrico de Albeneto, et multis 
aliis. 

[Fol. 2, b.] 

Idem Willielmus Longespeye per aliam cartam suam recitat 
et confirmat secundam cartam matris sua? sicut superius, iisdem 
testibus. 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XI 

[Fol. 3, b.] 
Willielmus Longespeye Alius supradicti Willielmi per cartam 
suam confirmat eandem donationem, aviae suae cartam recitans 
de verbo ad verbum. 



Henricus teriius,Rex Anglia, confirmat Donationem Elce Comitissce. 
[Fol. 4, b.] 

Henricus Dei gratia Rex Anglie, &c. Archiepiscopis, Epis- 
copis, Abbatibus, Prioribus, Comitibus, Baronibus, Justiciars, 
Vicecomitibus, Prepositis, Ministris, et omnibus Baillivis et 
Fidelibus suis, salutem. Inspeximus Cartam Ele Comitisse 
Sarum in hec verba. (Hie recitat de verbo ad verbum primam 
Cartam dicta Comitissce, et deinde proeedit in hunc modum.J Nos 
igitur hanc donationem et concessionem ratam et gratam ha- 
bentes, earn pro nobis etheredibus nostris concedimus et sigilJo 
nostro confirmavimus. Hiis Testibus : predicto Hugone de 
Burgo comite Cancie Justiciario Anglie, Stephano de Segrave, 
Philippo de Albeneto, Radulfo filio Nicholai, Johanne filio Phi- 
lippi, Ricardo filio Hugonis, Radulfo de Ralege, Henrico de 
Capella, et aliis. Dat. per manura venerabilis patris R. Cices- 
trensis Episcopi cancellarii nostri apud Westm. xxxi die Ja- 
nuarii, anno Regni xiiii . 



Conventio inter JElam Comitissam et Rector em Ecclesice de Lacock, 

. circa immunHatem dictce Ecclesice parochialis. 

[Fol. 5, a.] 

Convenit inter dominam Comitissam Sarum, requirentem as- 
sensum Johannis Rectoris Ecclesie de Lacock ad edificandam 
Abbathiam monialium in parochia sua de Lacok, ex una parte ; 
et eundem Johannem Rectorem ex altera : videlicet, quod dicta 
Ela Comitissa, ut predictum ipsius propositum ingressum paci- 



Xll CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

ficum penitus et progressum perpetuo sortiretur, obligavit se 
et heredes suos per presens scriptum de omnimoda indemnitate 
dicte Ecclesie de Lacok imperpetuum conservanda tarn in de- 
cimis majoribus et minoribus quarumcunque rerum, secundum 
quod debentur a laicis decimari, quam in sepulturis mortuorum, 
et in obventionibus et legatis et in aliis quibuscumque proven- 
tibus jure pastorali ad Ecclesiam pertinentibus memoratam, 
non obstante aliquo priviiegio generali vel speciali impetrato 
vel in posterum impetrando $ Ita tamen quod liceat libere 
faniilie Abbatisse predicte qUocumque voluerint alibi sive in vita 
sive in morte ecclesiastica percipere sacramenta et oblationes 
facere et legata. Capellani vero qui in Abbathia jam dicta 
divina pro tempore celebrabunt, Rectori prefate Ecclesie Pa- 
rochialis fidelitatem jarabunt de indempnitate ejusdem Ecclesie 
conservanda ; et cum fuerit ibi Abbatissa disponente Domino 
constituta, ipsa et ejus conventus per cartam suam cavebunt 
de indempnitate omnimoda dicte matricis Ecclesie conservanda 
sicut predictum est. Et hoc faciet queque Abbatissa post 
aliam. Quod si forte actis ibi aliquibus indiscrete limam cor- 
rectionis apponere sit necesse, dicta Comitissa dictam domum 
jurisdictioni Episcopi et Capituli Sarum subjecit, ac ejusdem 
excessus commisit eisdem appellatione postposita corrigendos. 
Ut autem ista conventio robur optineat perpetue firmitatis, con- 
fectum est inter prefatos Comitissam et Rectorem presens Cy- 
rographum bipartitum, cujus partes hinc inde acceptate et 
sigillis eorum signate remaneant penes ipsos in istius con- 
ventionis perpetuum argumentum. Actum apud Saresburiam 
in presentia domini Roberti Sarisburiensis Episcopi, Domini 
Walteri Decani, Rogeri Precentoris, Roberti Cancellarii, 
Edmundi Thesaurarii, tertio nonas Aprilis, anno gratie 
Mo.CO.XXo. Nono. 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. Xlll 

Robertus E/nscopics Sarisburiensis cartam Elce Comitissce 
defundatione confirmat. 

[Fol.5,b.] 

Universis sancte Matris Ecclesie filiis ad quos presens scrip- 
turn pervenerit, Robertus miseratione divina Sarisburiensis Ec- 
clesie minister humilis, salutem eternam in Domino. Cartam 
dilecte in Christo filie nobilis Ele Comitisse Sarum inspeximus 
in haec verba. (Hie recitat de verbo ad verbum Cartam dicta Co- 
mitissce sicut superius, et post earn Cartam confirmationis Regis 
Henrici tertii* sicut supra, et deinde procedit in hcec verba.) Qua- 
mobrem, ex commissa nobis cura pastoralis officii, eorum vota 
divinitus inspirata, quorum per cotidianam instantiam solici- 
tudinem gerimus, tenemur ex justitie debito et ex gratie bene- 
ficio paterna diligentia promovere, quod dicta nobilis in hac 
parte tarn salubri consilio providit, affectione sincera prosequen- 
dum duximus et favore. Nolentes quod tarn pii tarn sancti 
propositi consummatio retardetur, per quod et cultus Dei cres- 
cere et ecclesie decor per Spiritus Sancti gratiam magnifice 
poterit dilatari. Habito igitur cum dilectis filiis Capituli super 
hiis cum debita deliberatione tractatu, inspecto etiam cyro- 
grapho inter Comitissam predictam et Johannem ecclesie de 
Lacok Rectorem de indempnitate Ecclesie memorate confecto, 
pulsati insuper devotis supplicationibus W. Longespeye ejus- 
dem Comitisse filii et heredis, de voluntate gratissima et as- 
sensu unanimi dilectorum in Christo filiorum ac fratrum nos- 
trorum dictorum W. Decani et Capituli Sarum ob honorem et 
reverentiam Dei et gloriose genetricis sue semperque virginis 
Marie, et ad cultum ampliandum divinum ■ auctoritate ponti- 
fical i concedimus quod predicta Ela Comitissa abbathiam fun- 
det et construat in manerio supradicto de Lacok, ac moniales 
de ordine Sancti Augustini ibidem constituat ; statuentes ut 
quecumque fuerint ibi pro tempore constitute ejusdem Sancti 
regulam similiter et ordinem exerceant et in perpetuum imi- 

* See the remark in p. 185. 



XIV CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

tentur, et Ecclesie Sarum et nobis nostrisque successoribus per 
omnia et in omnibus canonice perpetuis temporibus sint sub- 
jecte ; Salva etiam indempnitate per omnia sancte Matris ec- 
clesie, sicut in memorato cyrographo continetur quod quidem 
in suo robore in perpetuum statuimus duraturum. Quod ut 
robur optineat perpetue firmitatis presens scriptum sigillo nos- 
tro et sigillo capituli nostri fecimus communiri. Dat. apud 
Remmesberiam per manum W. de Purl clerici nostri, xii kal. 
Maii, pontificatus nostri anno primo. Hiis Testibus : Domino 
W. Decano, R. Precentore, R. Cancellario, et E. Thesaurario 
Sarum, Magistris W. Archidiacono Berkesire, H. Teysson, R. 
de Croshal, Thoma de Ebelesborn, et W. de Len, Gilberto de 
Stapelbrig, et P. Picot cantore Sarum, magistris Thoma de 
Warwick et Johanne de Bermingham clerici s nostris, Waltero 
et Ricardo capellanis nostris, et multis aliis. 

[Fol. 7, a.] 
W. Longespeye per cartam suam promittit quod nihil exiget 
contra cyrographum inter ipsam et se confectum, ratione cartee 
quam mater sua Ela Comitissa ei fecit de concessione mane- 
riorum suorum, &c. 

[Fol,7,b.] 
Jordanus de Heydon dedit Abbatissae de Lacock et Con- 
ventui ejusdem loci duas acras terrae arabilis in campis de 
Hatton, pro qua concessione dicta Abbatissa dedit ei tres 
marcas et dimidiam in gersuma. 

[Fol. 8, a.] 
W. Longespeye iterum confirmat omnes Donationes matris 
suae. 

Carta Henrici tertii Regis Anglice de Mercato Monialibus 
concesso apud Lacock. 

Henricus Dei gratia Rex Anglic, Dominus Hibernie, Dux 
Normannie et Aquitanie, Comes Andegavie, Archiepiscopis, 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XV 

Episcopis, Abbatibus, Prioribus, Comitibus, Baronibus, Justi- 
ciariis, Vicecomitibus, Prepositis, Ministris, et omnibus Ballivis 
et fidelibus suis salutem. Sciatis nos concessisse et hac carta 
nostra confirmasse, pro nobis et heredibus nostris, dilectis nobis 
in Chrfsto Ele Abbatissae de Lacock et Monialibus ibidem Deo 
servientibus quod ipse et successores earum in perpetuum ha- 
beant quoddam Mercatum ad manerium suum de Lacok sin- 
gulis septimanis per diem Martis, nisi mercatum illud sit ad 
nocumentum vicinorum mercatorum. Quare volumus et fir- 
miter precipimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris quod predicte 
Ela Abbatissa et Moniales ibidem Deo servientes et successores 
earum in perpetuum habeant et teneant predictum Mercatum 
apud manerium predictum de Lacok, bene et in pace et libere 
et quiete cum omnibus libertatibus et liberis consuetudinibus 
ad hujusmodi Mercatum pertinentibus, sicut predictum est. 
Hiis Testibus : venerabilibus patribus W. Eboracensi Archie- 
piscopo, W. Karleolensi, W. "Wigorniensi, et W, Exoniensi 
Episcopis, B. comite le Bigot, W. de Cantulo, Johanne filio 
Galfridi, Galfrido Dispensario, Waltero de Lintona, et aliis. 
Dat. per manum nostram apud Portesmouth sexto die Mail, 
anno regni nostri vicesimo sexto. 

[Fol. 9, a.] 

Sequuntur in Registro istae Cartae, viz. Conventio inter W. 
Comitem Sarum, et B. Bluet vicinum suum, super Advocatione 
Ecclesiae de Lacock, quod unus eorum habeat Donationem 
dictae Ecclesiae una vice et alter altera vice, et quod neuter 
eorum po:-sit alienare dictam Advocationem. 

Carta W. Longespeye confirmans Monialibus de Lacock 
Manerium de Lacock et Manerium de Hatherop, et injungens 
militibus et libere tenentibus ut faciant omnia servitia sua pre- 
dicts Monialibus. 

[Fol.9,b.] 

Repetuntur Cartae W. Longespeye duae, et Henrici Regis, 
quae supra habentur ex foliis 2, 4. 



XVI CARTULARY OF L ACOCK. 

Carta Henrici tertii, Regis Anglw, de Feria Monialibus 
de Lacock concessa. 

[Fol. 10, b.] 

Henricus Dei gratia Rex Anglioe, &c. Archiepiscopis, Epis- 
copis, Abbatibus, Prioribus, Comitibus, Baronibus, Justiciariis, 
Vicecomitibus, Prepositis, Ministris, et omnibus fidelibus et 
Ballivis suis salutem. Sciatis nos concessisse et hac carta nos- 
tra confirmasse pro nobis et heredibus nostris Priorissee de La- 
cock et monialibus ibidem Deo servientibus quod ipse et suc- 
cessors sui habeant in perpetuum quandam Fetiam apud ma- 
nerium de Lacok duraturam per tres dies, scilicet, in vigilia 
et in die et in crastino translationis Sancti Thome Martyris, 
nisi feria ilia sit ad nocumentum vicinarum Feriarum. Quare 
volumus et firmiter precipimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris 
quod predicte Priorissa et Moniales et successores sui habeant 
et teneant in perpetuum Feriam predictam bene et in pace 
libere et quiete et integre cum omnibus libertatibus et liberis 
consuetudinibus adhujusmodi Ferias pertinentibus, nisi Feria 
ilia sit ad nocumentum Feriarum vicinarum, sicut predictum 
est. Hiis testibus, W. de Raleg thesaurario Exon, Auma- 
rico de Sancto Amando, Johanne filio Galfridi, Johanne filio 
Philippi, Bartholomeo Pecch, Johanne de Plesseis, Hamone 
filio Philippi, et aliis. 'Dat. per manum venerabilis patris Ra- 
dulphi Cicestrensis Episcopi et Cancellarii nostri, apud Wyn- 
deshour, septimo die Augusti, anno regni nostri vicesimo primo. 

Carta Regis Henrici tertii de Bosco mortuo Monialibus 

de Lacock concesso. 

[Fol. 11, a.] 

Henricus Dei gratia Rex Anglie, &c. omnibus Ballivis et 
fidelibus suis ad quos presentes littere pervenerint salutem. 
Sciatis nos concessisse dilccte nobis in Christo Abbatisse de 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XV11 

Lacock quod singulis septimanis habeat unam carrectam semel 
itinerantem in foresta nostra de Melkesham ad mortuum bos- 
cum, ad focum suum sine dampno eidem foreste quandiu nobis 
placuerit. In cujus rei testimonium literas nostras eidem Ab- 
batisse fieri fecimus patentes. Teste rneipso apud Portes- 
mouth sexto die Maii, anno regni nostri xxvi°. 

Carta ejusdem Regis Hcnrici de Piacea in Foresta de Melkesham 
Monialibus de Lacock concessa. 

HenricusDei gratia Rex Anglie, Dominus Hibernie, et Dux 
Aquitanie, Archiepiscopis, Episcopis, Abbatibus, Prioribus, 
Comitibus, Baronibus, Justiciariis, Vicecomitibus, Ministris, et 
omnibus Baillivis et fidelibus suis salutem. Noverit universitas 
vestra quod, cum dilecta affinis nostra Ela dicta Patrona Domus 
de Lacock nos attente rogasset ut eidem Domui sue ad susten- 
tationem suam de gratia nostra subveniremus de una carectata 
buste diurna de mortuo vel sicco bosco vel de viridi in foresta 
nostra de Melkesham,, et per inquisitionem captam inde per di- 
lectum et fidelem nostrum Robertum Walerauns tunc Justici- 
arium foreste nostre citra Trentam fieri fecimus, accepissemus 
quod mortuus vel siccus boscus non sufficeret ad unam carec- 
tatam diurnam, et quod utilius esset nobis assignare Abbatisse 
et Monialibus dicte domus quandam placeam in quadam parte 
foreste, nos pro salute anime nostre et animarum antecessorum 
nostrorum et heredum nostrorum dedimus, concessimus, et hac 
carta nostra confirmaviraus, pro nobis et heredibus nostris, pre- 
dicts Abbatisse et Monialibus quadraginta acras bosci in pre- 
dicta foresta nostra, per perticam nostram de foresta, infra metas 
subscriptas, viz. de haya et fossato de Luntesleye ascendendo 
juxta Wodenesdik usque desuper viam que vocatur Hagge- 
strete versus Chetowe, et desuper ipsam viam usque parvam 
Hesewych ad fossatum quod vocatur Aldefrithesdich, et de 
dicto fossato de Aldefrithesdich, usque ad predictum fossatum et 
haiam de Luntesleye juxta Milestile ex parte australi ; habendas 
et tenendas eisdem Abbatisse, et Monialibus et successoribus 

b 



XV111 CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

suis, ad sustentationem Domus sue, de nobis et heredibus nostris, 
in liberam puram et perpetuam elemosynam, quietas de vasto 
et regardo, et de visu forestariorum viridariorum, et de om- 
nibus aliis ad forestam et forestarios viridarios et eorum minis- 
tros pertinentibus. Ita tamen quod liceat eisdera Monialibus 
placeam illam fossato et haya pro voluntate sua includere, ita 
quod fere nostre earn ingredi non possint, et earn sic inclusam 
sibi et successoribus suis tenere in perpetuum. Et si contingat 
quod fere nostre per defectum clausure sue placeam illam in- 
grediantur, fere ille nobis remaneant capiende ad voluntatem 
nostram. Ita quod, cum voluerint dicte Moniales, placeam illam 
reincludant quod fere nostre earn ingredi non possint, sicut 
predictum est. Hiis testibus, Ricardo de Clare Comite Glou- 
cestrie et Herefordie, Rogero le Bigot Comite Norfolcie et 
Marescallo Anglie, Hugone le Bigot Justiciario Anglie, Phi- 
lippo Basset, Johanne Merunsell Thesaurario Eborum, Johanne 
de Burgo, Henrico de Bathonia, Rogero de Thurkelby, Gil- 
berto de Preston, Nicholao de Hanslo, et aliis. Datum per 
manum nostram apud Westmonasterium tertio die Junii, anno 
regni nostri quadragesimo quarto. 

[Fol. 12, a.] 
Conventio inter Moniales de Lacock, et Rogerum de Bloet 
personam de Lacock, super quodam Molendino cum stagno, et 
quodam Ponte, a predictis Monialibus erectis, viz. quod pre- 
dictus persona nihil possit exigere de Monialibus nomine mo- 
lendini, et quod eaedem Moniales teneantur predictum pontem 
erigere si ceciderit, et satisfaciant dicto personae, pro omnibus 
damnis si dictus pons non fuerit erectus. 

[Fol. 12, b.] 
Beatrix Abbatissa de Lacock et Willielmus Bluet miles fe- 
cerunt inter se excambium terrarum. Dictus Miles dedit Ab- 
batisse totam terram suam in la Scorteforlange continentem 
quinque acras jure hereditario in perpetuum, et quod Moniales 
possint includere predictam terram et totam terram suam in 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XIX 

Buriforlange, et etiam concessit unum fontem super terram suam 
in Lackhamesleie, ita quod possent eum includere, et ultra 
quod possent Moniales conducere aquam dicti fontis super 
terras ejusdera Willielmi ad aqueductum suum. Pro hac con- 
cessione Moniales dederunt praedicto Willelmo Bluet croftara 
quam tenuit Thomas de Ponte, et terram quam tenuit Alditha 
de la Hele, et terram quam Petrus Pulche tenuit, et unam 
acram terree in Wiveleshange, et dimidiam acram terrse in la 
Nihoke, que omnes particular continent quinque acras. 

[Fol. 13, b.] 
Sequitur alia Carta de Aquaeductu supradicto. 

[Fol. U, a.] 

Conventio inter supradictum Willelmum Bluet et Moniales 
de Lacock de cursu aquae ad Molendinum juxta Claustrum. 

[Fol. 15, a.] 

Roberti de Holta licentia concessa monialibus de Lacock 
ducendi aquam per terram suam. 

Licentia Willelmi Bluet de eodem conductu. 

[Fol. 17, a.] 
Johannes Sewal per cartam suam confirmavit Julianae de 
Lacock Abbatissae et ejusdem loci Conventui, pro quatuor 
marcis argenti quas ei prae manibus dederunt, omnia messuagia 
sua in villa de Lacock. Cartae praecedentes exhibent jus quod 
idem Johannes habuit in dictis messuagiis. 

[Fol. 18, a.] 
Ricardus Malloc quietum clamavit eidem Abbatissae et Con- 
ventui totum jus quod habuit vel habere potuit in uno Mes- 
suagio in villa de Lacock. 

Alditha Pilevel quietum clamavit Alicise Abbatissae et Con- 
ventui de Lacock, totum jus quod habuit in quodam Burgagio 
in villa de Lacock. 

b 2 



XX CARTULARY OF L ACOCK. 

[Fol. 19, a.] 
Willielmus de Chippenham scissor dedit Beatrici Abbatissae 
et Conventui de Lacock, messuagium cum domibus, curtila- 
giis et omnibus pertinentiis suis in villa de Lacock, pro qua 
donatione dicta Abbatissa et Conventus dederunt ei quadra- 
ginta solidos sterlingorum. 

[Fol. 23, a.] 

Nicholaus Flour, consensu Mariae uxoris sua?, confirmavit 
donationem quam Johannes filius Rogeri de Hedyngton fecit 
per cartam suam Abbatissae de Lacock, et ejusdem loci Con- 
ventui, de omnibus Burgagiis seu tenementis quae aliquando 
contingebant et contigisse poterant praedictam Mariam uxorem 
suam nomine dotis per mortem Rogeri de Hedyngton, quon- 
dam viri sui. 

[Fol. 23, b.] 

Nicholaus filius Rogeri de Hedyngton reddidit et concessit 
Abbatissae et Conventui de Lacock, omnia tenementa quae de 
eis tenuit in Lacock. 

[Fol. 24, a.] 

Edwardus Sweyn, de Lacock. dedit et concessit Monialibus 
de Lacock, totam terrain et tenementum, &c. quae aliquando 
habuit vel habere potuit in Lacock ; pro qua donatione dictae 
Moniales concesserunt ei et Isabella? uxori sua?, ad totam vitam 
utriusque, unam liberationem secundum quod continebatur in 
quodam scripto inde inter eos confecto. 

[Fol. 25, a.] 
Edwardus Sweyn dedit eisdem Monialibus totam terram et 
tenementum quod Ricardus pater suus habuit de dono Ricardi 
de Wyck in Lacock et Lacham, et terram quam pater suus 
habuit de Willelmo ClovegiffVe, et duas acras terra? in Stret- 
forlanga, et unam croftam qua? vocabatur Wodecroft in La- 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XXI 

cock et Lacham, reddendo inde annuatim duodecim denarios 
heredibus Ricardi de Wycke, et unum obolum heredibus Wil- 
lelmi Clovegilofre, et dimidiam libram cumini haeredibus Ri- 
cardi Albi, et unum obolum heredibus Sewell, et unum de- 
narium Capellae de Lacham ad- lumen Beatae Mariae, et unum 
obolum haeredibus Johannis filii Jordani, pro omni servitio se- 
culari. 

[Fol. 25, b.] 
Petrus de Bristoll dedit Monialibus de Lacock duo messua- 
gia cum pertinentiis in villa de Lacock, reddendo inde tres 
obolos annuatim Rogero de Hedyngton, et Hugoni clerico 
unum denarium, pro omni servitio. 

[Fol. 26, b.] 

Isabella filia Roberti Burel, pro decern marcis argenti sibi 
prae manibus solutis, relaxavit et quietum clamavit Monialibus 
de Lacock totum jus et clamium quod habuit in duabus vir- 
gatis terrae cum pertinentiis in villa de Lacock et Natton. 

[Fol. 27, a.] 

Willelmus Burel, filius Isabellas supradictae, confirmavit do- 
nationem matris suae. 

[Fol. 28, b.] 

Hugo de Lacock clericus dimisit Monialibus de Lacock 
terram et tenementum quod habuit in villa de Natton, de dono 
Thomae de la Ford clerici, pro qua dimissione dictae Moniales 
dederunt dicto Hugoni viginti et duas marcas sterlingorum in 
gersuma. 

[Fol. 29, a.] 

Ricardus Purchas quietum clamavit Beatrici Abbatissae et 

Monialibus de Lacock, totum jus et clamium quod habuit in 

tototenemento quod Willielmus de Donelis et Isabella uxor ejus 

tenuerunt in Lacock apud Wycke, cum aedificiis, pratis, &c. 



XX11 CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

pro qua quieta clamatione dictae Moniales dederunt prsedicto 
Ricardo Purchas, et Ricardo filio suo, ad valenciam tertiae partis 
praedictae terrae excepto mesuagio, ad totam vitain suam, red- 
dendo inde annuatim unum denarium, pro omni servitio. 

[Fol. 30, a.] 

Robertas de la Lupegate dedit Monialibus de Lacock, duas 
acras et dirridiam terra? arabilis cum pertinentiis in cultura 
quae vocatur Kechelcroft juxta novum clausum dictae Domus 
de Lacock. 

[Fol, 30, b.] 

Henricus Crok dedit eisdem Quarreram inter terram do- 
mini Sampsonis de la Bore et Walteri Campedene, cum libero 
ingressu et egressu, quamdiu ipsa durare poterit. 

Robertus Abbas de Stanlega in Wiltesire, et Conventus 
ejusdem loci, dederunt eisdem Monialibus unam partem quar- 
rariae suae de Haselbyria, habentem in latitudine sexaginta et 
sexdecim pedes, et in latitudine quicquid eorum fuit, ad ca- 
piendam petram quantam inde capere poterant, in escambium 
illius quarrariae quam Moniales emerunt de Henrico Crok. 
Dat. anno gratise Mo. CO. quadragesimo primo, die Sancti 
Johannis ante portam Latinam. 

[Fol. 33, b.] 

Matheus Alius Johannis Carpentarii dedit dictis Monialibus 
unum mesuagium in villa de Lacock, pro qua donatione dictae 
Moniales dederunt ei unam marcam Esterlingorum. 

[Fol. 34., b.] 
Robertus de Holta concessit quod eaedem Moniales liberam 
habeant potestatem fodiendi et aquam suam ducendi per ter- 
ram suam, et conductum suum reparandi. 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XX111 



Carta Willelmi Episcopi Sarum, Compositionem initam inter Ni- 
cholaum Longespee Rectorem Ecclesice de Lacock, et Moniales de 
Lacock, recitans et confirmans. 

[Fol. 35, b.] 

Pateat universis quod nos Willelmus, Dei permissione Epis- 
copus Sarum, inspeximus quandam compositionem initam inter 
discretum virum dominum Nicholaum Longespee, Thesaura- 
rium Ecclesie nostre Sarum, Rectorem Ecclesie de Lacock, 
vero sigillo dicti Domini Nicholai signatum, ex parte una, et 
religiosas dominas dominam Julianam Dei gratia Abbatissam 
Monasterii de Lacock et ejus Conventum ex altera, sub eo 
qui sequitur tenore. Universis sancte Matris Ecclesie filiis, 
presentes literas inspecturis, Nicholaus Longespee, Rector Ec- 
clesie de Lacock, Sarum Dyocesis, salutem in Domino. Ad 
universitatis vestre notitiam tenore presentium volo pervenire 
quod cum suscitata esset querela inter me et religiosas domi- 
nas dominam Julianam Dei gratia Abbatissam Monasterii de 
Lacock et ejus Conventum, super tertia parte decimarum gar- 
barum de dominico suo provenientium, videlicet de terris hiis 
que jacent in le Hinhoc,in Weteleye, in le Langeley, Suthbiria 
in Asseleye, in le Inlonde super Cockeleye, et in Monlesham, 
quas infra limites Parochie mee de Lacock percipiunt, et se 
percipere debere dicunt Abbatissa et Conventus supradicte, de 
dono venerabilis domine, domine Ele Longespee, Comitisse 
Sarum, matris mee, predicti Monasterii Fundatricis. Hec tan- 
dem ad perpetue pacis fundamentum compositio inter nos 
amicabilis intercessit, viz. quod ego, quam tenuis et exilis sit 
earum porcio decimarum predictarum quas sine gravi detri- 
mento predicte Ecclesie de Lacock percipere possunt et ha- 
bere, quamque jugis et intenta sit earum devocio apud Deum 
devote perpendens, de voluntate et assensu expresso Reve- 
rendi Patris domini Willelmi Dei gratia Sarum Episcopi ac ve- 
nerabilium dominorum Symonis Decani et Capituli Sarum, 
pro me et successoribus meis, sponte pure et absolute concedo 



XXIV CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

ut dictum Monasterium de Lacock, et Sanetimoniales ibidem 
Deo servientes et futuris temporibus serviture, habeant per- 
cipiant et in perpetuum possideant integre pacifice et incon- 
cusse tertiam partem decimarum predictarum de supradicto 
dominico suo proveniencium, sicut a tempore fundacionis suae 
perceperunt et percipiunt in presenti. Renuncians simplici- 
ter pro me et successoribus meis omni exactioni prosecutioni 
etjuri quod michi et eisdem competunt in hac parte vel in 
futurum competere possunt quoquo modo. In cujus rei testi- 
monium presens scriptum sigilli mei impressione munivi. Hu- 
jus rei sunt testes Dominus Johannes de Schryvenham vicarius 
perpetuus de Lacock, Willelmus de Wollesleye vicarius de 
Kalne, Johannes vicarius de Canyngg, Benedictus de Lincoln 
clericus, Willielmus scriptor, Johannes de Herterigg, Lam- 
bertus de Roscumbe, Nicholaus de Rudham, et plures alii. 
Datum apud Kalne, tertio nonas Septembris, anno Domini 
mo. ceo. nonagesimo. Quam compositionem ratam habentes 
et acceptam, ipsam auctoritate pontificali ad peticionem dic- 
tarum parcium de consensu Decani et Capituli Ecclesie nostre 
Sarum duximus confirmandam. In cujus rei testimonium pre- 
sentes litteras tarn sigilli nostri quam Decani et Capituli 
nostri Sarum impressione fecimus communiri. Datum apud 
Sunnyngg tercio decimo kal. Aprilis, anno Domini millesimo 
ducentesimo nonagesimo, et consecrationis nostre secundo. 

Carta Edwardi primi Regis Anglia, licentiam concedens Roberto de 
Bar deny e quod ipse possit dare Monialibus de Lacock qucedam 
tenementa et terras. 

[Fol. 40, b.] 

Edwardus Dei gratia Rex Anglie, Dominus Hibernie, et 
Dux Aquitanie, omnibus ad quos presentes littere pervenerint 
salutem. Licet de communi concilio regni nostri statuerimus 
quod non liceat viris religiosis seu aliis ingredi feodum alicujus 
ita quod ad manum mortuam deveniat, sine licentia nostra et 
capitalis domini de quo res ilia immediate tenetur j per finem 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XXV 

tamen quern dilecta nobis in Christo Abbatissa de Lacock 
fecit nobiscum in Cancellaria nostra, concessimus, et licen- 
ciam dedimus, pro nobis et heredibus nostris, quantum in 
nobis est, Roberto de Bardeneye, quod ipse duo mesuagia et 
duas virgatas terre et dimidiam cum pertinentiis in Natton 
juxta Lacock, dare possit et assignare prefate Abbatisse et 
Monialibus ejusdem loci, Habenda et tenenda eisdem Abba- 
tisse et Monialibus, et earum successoribus in perpetuum. 
Et eisdem Abbatisse et Monialibus quod ipsae predicta mesua- 
gia et terram cum pertinentiis a prefato Roberto recipere pos- 
sint, et tenere sicut predictum est, tenore presentium similiter 
licentiam dedimus specialem. Nolentes quod predictus Ro- 
bertus aut heredes sui, prefatae Abbatissa et Moniales, vel 
eorum successores, ratione statuti predicti per nos vel heredes 
nostros inde occasionentur, molestentur in aliquo vel graventur. 
In cujus rei testimonium has litteras nostras sibi fieri fecimus 
patentes. Teste meipso apud Dunfermelin vicesimo quinto 
die Novembris, anno regni nostri tricesimo secundo. 

[Fol. 41, b.] 

Finalis concordia facta in Curia Regis Edwardi primi, apud 
Eboracum, anno tricesimo secundo dicti Regis, inter Johannam 
Abbatissam et Conventum de Lacock ex una parte, et Ro- 
bertum de Bardenye ex altera, de duobus mesuagiis duabus 
virgatis terrae et dimidia cum pertinentiis in Natton juxta La- 
cock. Dictus Robertus recognovit predicta cum pertinentiis 
esse jus ipsius Abbatissae et Ecclesiae suae, et pro hac recog- 
nitione Abbatissa dedit ei quadraginta marcas argenti. 

Idem Robertus de Bardeneye per cartam suam dedit dictis 
Monialibus duo mesuagia et unam virgatam terrae et dimidiam 
in Natton et Lacock. 

[Fol. 4J, b.] 

Idem per aliam cartam dedit eisdem omnes terras et omnia 
tenementa sua in Natton. 

[Fol. 42, a.] 
Willielmus filius Thomae de la Chambre, de Natton ; quietum 



XXVI CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

clamavit dictis Monialibus totum jus quod habuit in quinque 
solidatis septem denariatis et una libra cymini annui redditus 
provenientis de terris et tenementis in Natton, et totum cla- 
mium quod habuit in dictis terris, 

[FoJ. 43, a.] 

Willelmus Longespeye dedit eisdem totam terram de Cettre, 
exceptis feodis militum cum eorum serviciis et una virgata ter- 
rae, et una dimidia acra prati, et tota terra Else Comitissse de 
Warwick. 

[Fol. 43, b.] 

Henricus tertius, Rex Angliae, confirmavit preedictam dona- 
tionem per cartam suam, de anno regni sui tricesimo secundo. 

[Fol. 49, a.] 

Alicia de Cettre quietum clamavit dictis Monialibus totum 
jus quod habuit in una virgata terra? in villa de Cettra, et in 
una domo et placea in Lacock, ante portam cymiterii Abba- 
thiae. 

[Fol. 52, a.] 

Anno regni Regis Henrici tertii tricesimo tertio, Nicholaus 
de Hedyngton, coram justiciariis Regis, recognovit tres caru- 
catas terrae cum pertinentiis in Cettra esse jus Monialium de 
Lacock. 

[Fol. 52, b.] 
Anno ejusdem Regis quinquagesimo secundo, Walter us Gif- 
fard, Priores et Conventus de Bromore et Ferleg, Willielmus 
le Droys, Simon de Brokebyria, et Benedictus Silvester conces- 
serunt quod praedictee Moniales imperpetuum tenerent clausum 
suum apud Ciclet tarn vetus quam novum. 

[Fol. 53, b.j 
Johanna filia Willelmi Larcher quietum clamavit dictis Mo- 



CARTULARY OF LA COCK. XXV11 

nialibus totum jus et clamium quod habuit in aliqua terra et 
teneraento et custodia nemoris de Chicled. 

[Fol. 54, b.] 

Walterus le Fauconer remisit Monialibus unam annuam 
carectatara virgarum de Bosco ipsarum de Chicklad quam de- 
bebant ei ratione tenementi quod de eis tenebat in Cettra. 

[Fol. 56, b/J 

Ela Abbatissa de Lacock, et Conventus ejusdem loci, rerrri- 
serunt Johanni Falconario servitium quod eis debebat pro 
tribus virgatis terrae in villa de Cettra, viz. mutationem unius 
espervarii et unius falconis, et pro bac remissione dictus Jo- 
hannes obligavit se et heredes suos singulis annis reddere dictae 
Abbatissae et Conventui dimidiam marcam argenti. 

[Fol. 57, a.] 
Johannes Falconarius remisit Monialibus de Lacock totum 
jus suum in quinque acris terrae quas habebat in campo de 
Cettra orientali; pro qua remissione dictae Moniales dederunt 
ei quatuor marcas et dimidiam argenti, quatuor quarteria fru- 
menti, et quinque quarteria ordei. 

[Fol. 57, b.] 

Johannes Parcarius recognovit se debere eisdem Monialibus r 
octo solidos redditus annuos. 

Alicia de Cormailes remisit eisdem redditum casei quod ei 
debebatur de manerio de Cettra. 

[Fol. 58, a.] 

Willelmus de Horton remisit eisdem, pro viginti solidis quos 
ei dictae Moniales dederunt, totum jus quod habebat in uno 
mesuagio et duabus carucatis terrae in Chitterne. Dat. anno 
regis Edwardi primi decimo septimo. 

[Fol. 58, b.] 
Margareta vidua Edmundi le Rous, de Beremham, remisit 



XXV111 CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

Julianae Abbatissoe et Conventui de Lacock, totum jus suum in 
uno mesuagio et duabus carucatis terrae in Chytterne, pro qua 
remissione dictae Moniales dederunt ei viginti solidos argenti. 

[Fol. 59, a.] 
Matildis vidua Johannis de Merweden remisit eisdem Moni- 
alibus totum jus quod habuit in uno mesuagio et duabus caru- 
catis terrae in Chiterne, anno regni regis Edwardi primi de- 
cimo septimo, et pro hac remissione dictae Moniales dederunt 
ei viginti solidos. 

Carta Roberti Episcopi Sarum, de Ordinatione Ecclesice de 
Wynterborn Sireveton. 

[Fol. 60, a.] 
Robertus Dei gratia Episcopus Sarum, dilectis in Christo 
filiabus Ele eadem gratia Abbatisse et Conventui Monialium 
de Lacock salutem, gratiam, et benedictionem. Cum juxta 
merita deceat premia dispensare, non est gerendum graviter 
aut indigne si clarioribus virtutum radiis coruscantes, suis hoc 
meritis quasi ex debito vendicantibus in optinendis graciis ce- 
teris preferantur, ut dum bene meritos congruis premiis alii 
conspiciunt muneratos, ad bene merendum emulacione laudabili 
forcius animentur. Cum igitur tu, filia Abbatissa, dum olim inter 
secli nobiles dignitate seculari fulgeres, eo tibi qui ubi vult 
spiritu spirat desuper inspirante, patrimonium tuum Domino de- 
dicans, illud quibusdam monasteriis que in eodem ut cultum 
divinum ampliares de novo fundasti, de salute propria cogitans 
provide duxeris applicandum ; ac postmodum tua teque salu- 
briter obnegans habitu religionis suscepto, ea que prius te 
gracia prosequente adeo virtutum profeceris incrementis, quod 
meritis tuis exigentibus auctoritate et assensu quorum interfuit 
in hac parte disponente Domino, in primam predicti Monasterii 
Abbatissam assumpta, gregis tui numerum ac hospitalitatis 
graciam tui regiminis tempore laudabiliter duxeris ampliandos ; 
quare possessiones predicti monasterii que nunc sunt expen- 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XXIX 

sarura eidem incumbentium honera nequeunt sustinere ; nos ob 
vite mundiciam et religionis fervorem que in novella monasterii 
vestri plantacione florere cognovimus, ac meritorum tuorum 
optentu quo magis in vobis unitatis interioris federa sinceriori 
caritate solidentur ac hospitaiitatis munera liberalius et liben- 
tius exhibeantur, capituli nostri Sarum accedente assensu, de 
Ecclesia de Wynterborn Sirreveton vestri patronatus taliter 
duximus ordinandum ; videlicet quod, Hosberto nunc Rectore 
ejusdem cedente vel decedente, decima garbarum tocius par- 
rochie ejusdem, pratum dominicura, et mansus capitalis Eccle- 
sie predicte, quem tamen Vicarius ejusdem precario tenebit do- 
nee in alio manso competenti eidem provideritis, in usus ves- 
tros proprios et perpetuos cedere debeant in futurum. Re- 
siduo fructuum Ecclesie memorate ad perpetuum ipsius Vica- 
rium pro tempore futurum qui extraordinariis oneribus inter 
vos et ipsum pro rata porcionum vestrarum parciendis, onera 
ordinaria eidem incumbentia sustinebit nomine perpetue vicarie 
spectaturo ; in qua nobis et successoribus nostris de assensu 
vestro jus patronatus reservamus. Interim vero duas marcas 
annuas a prefato Rectore in beati Michaelis et resurrectionis 
Dominice testis pro equallbus porcionibus percipiendas de ejus- 
dem Rectoris assensu, Ecclesie ipsius pensionis nomine, vobis 
duximus constituendas. Ut autem hec donacio nostra per- 
petue firmitatis robur optineat, presens scriptum tam sigillo 
capituli nostri Sarum quam nostro fecimus consignari. Hiis 
testibus, Domino Roberto decano Sarum, magistro Rogero 
precentore, magistro Radulfo cancellario, domino Henrico 
thesaurario Sarum, magistris Egidio archidiacono Berksire et 
Stephano archidiacono Sarum, magistris Raddulfo de Eboraco, 
Thoma de la Wile, Waltero de la Wile, Petro de Cumbe, Gal- 
frido de Bedeford, canonicis Sarum, magistro Ricardo de 
Bienham, Petro de Wynborn capellano, magistro Rogero de 
la Grene, Roberto de Wycbampton, et aliis. Dat. 1 kal. Ja- 
nuarii, pontificatus nostri anno tertio-decimo (1241). 



XXX CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

[Fol. 60, b.] 
Hosbertus Rector Ecclesies de Wynterborn Sireveton su- 
pranominatus per cartam suam confirmavit eisdem Monialibus 
supradictas duas marcas annui redditus sicut in carta Episcopi. 

[Fol. 61, a.] 

Ivo Mercator dedit eisdem Monialibus tenementum suum in 
manerio de Wynterborn Syreveton. 

[Fol. 61, b.] 
Hugo Burgonensis dedit viginti solidos per annum in ma- 
nerio de Wynterborn Syreveton, qui reddebantur ei pro dua- 
bus virgatis terra?, et totum jus suum in dictis duabus virgatis. 

[Fol. 63, b.] 

Matildis Eborardi dedit eisdem totam terram suam in ma- 
nerio de Ambresburia, reddendo inde debitum dominis feodi. 

Philippus de Depeford recognovit se teneri solvere dicto 
Conventui quadraginta solidos annuatim imperpetuum in villa 
de West Amberesbury pro terra que fuit Matildis uxoris dicti 
Philippi. 

[Fol. 65, a.] 
Anastatia de Pavely dedit viginti solidos annui redditus in 
manerio de Westbyria percipiendos. 

[Fol. 65, b] 
Walterus de Pavely confirmavit prsedictam donationem filiae 
suae Anastasiae. 

[Fol. 66, a,] 
Willielmus Longespeye, per tres cartas suas, contulit dictis 
Monialibus totum manerium de Bissopestre, terram de Hathrop, 
et advocacionem Ecclesiae parochialis de Lacock. Hsec con- 
cessio facta fuit anno regni Henrici tertii vicesimo. 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XXXI 

[Fol. 67, a.] 
Adam Sweyn concessit eisdem totam terram et medietatem 
molendini cum pertinentiis quae habuit in manerio Abbatissae 
de Lacock, apud Bissopestriam, pro qua donatione Beatrix Ab- 
batissa dedit dicto Adae sex marcas et dimidiam argenti. 

[Fol. 67, b.] 

Anno 1259, Anastasia relicta Helyae de Byssopestre remisit 
eisdem Monialibus totam partem suam Molendini de Bissopes- 
tre cum pertinentiis. 

[Fol. 68, a.] 
Anno 1259, Willielmus de Smalebrok remisit eisdem totam 
partem suam Molendini de Bissopestre, et prati. 

[Fol. 68, b.] 

Edwardus filius Adse Serle dedit eisdem duas acras terrae 
cum pertinentiis in villa de Bissopestre. 

Emma quae fuit uxor Eliae Burgeys de Weremenistre, remi- 
sit eisdem totum clamium quod habuit in Molendino in villa 
de Bissopestre, et in uno mesuagio in eadem villa, pro qua 
remissione dictae Moniales dederunt dictae Emmae quadraginta 
solidos sterlingorum in gersumam. 

[Fol. 69, b.] 

Rogerus Capellanus renunciavit totum jus quod habuit in 
terrae quae fuit patris sui in Lacock. 

[Fol. 71, a.] 
Agnes Waspayl concessit eidem Conventui mesuagium suum, 
cum gardinis, croftis, et pratis, et tota terra sua in Horspol, et 
septem acras terrae super croftam Jordani de Smalebroke, et 
duas acras terrae supra Mothull, et unam acram terrae ex aus- 
trali parte ecclesiae Sancti Aldelmi de Bissopestre, et duas acras 
terrae apud Rubge, et unam acram terrae in Kenescumbe, et 



XXX11 CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

unam acram terrae super caput de ]a Langeforburdesende, et 
quatuor averia et unum affrum in mora de Smalebrok, quieta 
de pannagio et herbagio, reddendo inde annuatim unam rosam 
dictae Agneti, et unum denarium domino feodi pro omni ser- 
vicioj &c. salvo regali servitio. 

[Fol. 71, b J 

Anno Regis Henrici tertii quadragesimo quinto, dicta Agnes 
finem fecit cum praedictis Monialibus coram Justiciariis Regis 
de supradicta donatione. 

[Fol. 73, a.] 

Anno ejusdem Regis tricesimo tertio, Willielmus Maudut 
concessit pr33dictis Monialibus communam pasturae ad ducentas 
oves in bruera sua apud Wermenistre per totam brueram et 
per totum annum pascendis, excepto clauso suo, reddendo inde 
duos solidos sterlingorum pro omni servitio. 

[Fol. 73, b.] 

Robertus Swotyng quietum clamavit eisdem totum jus suum 
in una crofta apud Mamborn, cum sepibus et fossatis ad dictam 
croftam spectantibus desuper Hullewode, pro qua quieta cla- 
matione dictae Moniales dederunt ei unam acram terrae ara- 
bilis cum pertinentiis in villa de Bissopestre. 

[Fol. 76, a.] 

Willelmus Longespey concessit quod mater sua Ela confer- 
ret Domui de Lacock medietatem manerii de Hedyngton, et 
ipsa relaxavit praedicto Willelmo excambium terrae Prioris et 
Canonicorum de Bradenestok, in Hatherop, dicto Priori et Ca- 
nonicis faciendum, et decern libratas redditus Esterlingorum de 
villa de Seperige, et de Heanton, die Sancti Martini annuatim 
percipiendas. 

Johannes de Ripariis per cartam suam notum facit homini- 
bus suis de Hedinton, tarn liberis quarn tenentibus in vilenagio, 
se dedisse Monialibus de Lacock totam terram suam et reddi- 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XXXlil 

turn de Hedyngton pro sustentatione duorum Capellanorum 
cantantium pro fidelibus defunctis usque ad finem sseculi. 

[Fol. 76, b.] 

Idem significat per aliam cartam. 

Michael de Cheldrinton dedit eisdem Monialibus unam vir- 
gatam terras cum pertinentiis in villa de Hedyngton, pro qua 
concessione Ela Abbatissa dedit ei viginti quatuor marcas ar- 
genti. 

[Fol. 78, b.J 

Johannes Pie dedit eisdem Monialibus unam marleram pro 
decern solidis argenti. 

[Fol. 79, a.] 

Radulphus Angens concessit eisdem totam terram quam ha- 
buit in manerio de Hedyngton. 

[Fol. 82, a.] 

Katherina Luvel concessit eisdem totam terram suam de. 
Wyclescote, absque omni servitio, &c. 

Alia carta ejusdem Katherinae eandem concessionem recitat, 
sed addit quod Moniales redderent inde Rogero Lof a quo 
terram illam emerat unam libram cimini ad festum sancti Mi- 
chaelis, et facerent nihilominus capitalibus dominis feodi illius 
servitium inde debitum. 

[Fol. 82, b.] 
Philippus Basset, frater praedictae Katherina?, cartam ejus 
superius memoratam recitat et confirmat. 

[Fol. 83, a.] 
Idem Philippus remisit dictis Monialibus sectam curia? quam 
ei debebant in manerio suo de Worton pro praedicta terra de 
Wekelescote. 

c 



XXXIV CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

[Fol. 83, b,] 

Rogerus Lof remisit dictis Monialibus totum jus quod ha- 
buit in predicta terra de Wyclescote, pro qua remissione dictse 
Moniales dederunt ei quinque marcas argenth 

Johannes Lof, filius Rogeri, idem confirmavit. 

[Fol. 86, a,] 
Willelmus Longespeye dedit eidem Conventui totam terram 
cum pertinentiis quse quondam fait Nicholai de Hamptun in 
Up eh am. 

[Fol- 86, b.] 

Stephanus Longespeye dedit eisdem duas acras prati sui in 
Nimeam. 

[Fol. 87, a.] 

Humfridus de Boun, Comes Herfordise et Essexise, Consta- 
bularius Angliee, dedit eisdem viginti solidos et quatuor de- 
narios annui redditus, viz. de Waltero de la Frithe, pro tene- 
mento suo et medietate unius dimidiae hidae terra? in campis 
ibidem 5s. annuatim - } de Waltero de Okeborn pro tenemento 
suo et una virgata terra? apud Hofchote sex solidos et octo 
denarios ; de Petro Bonhome de Hofchote, pro tenemento suo 
et una virgata terras in campis de Hofchote 6s. 8d. et de Priore 
Hospitalis Sancti Johannis de Calne, pro tenemento suo et una 
virgata terrae in campis de Hofchote 12d. cum homagiis, &c. 
libere et quiete ab omnibus sectis, &c. Praeterea remisit eis 12d. 
de annuo redditu quos ei reddere consueverunt pro tenemento 
quod de eo tenuerunt in villa de Hedyngton. 

Idem Comes mandavit Waltero Maudut, de la Frithe, quod 
in omnibus servitiis quae ei facere solebat pro tenemento in la 
Frithe, intendens esset in futurum Abbatissae et Conventui de 
Lacock. Datum apud Horsefend, die Purificationis Beatae 
Mariae virginis, anno regni Regis Edwardi 2do. 



CARTULARY OF L ACOCK. XXXV 



[Fol. 88, a.] 
Eodem raodo mandavit Waltero de Okeborn, pro una virgata 
terrae apud Hofcote, et Petro Bonhome de Ofchote pro tene- 
mento et una virgata terras in campis de Ofchote ; et Priori 
Hospitalis Sancti Johannis de Calne, pro tenemento et una 
virgata terrae in campis de Ofchote. 

[Fol. 88, b.] 

Hunfridus de Boun, &c. nepos praedicti Hunfridi Comitis, 
in carta sua recitat et confirmat superiorem donationem avi sui. 

[Fol. 89, b.] 

Magister Hospitalis Sancti Johannis de Calne, recognovit, 
anno octavo Regis Edwardi primi, se teneri Abbatissae et Con- 
ventui de Lacock in 12e£. annui redditus pro quodam tenemento 
in Ofcote, quod de eis tenebat in capite, et pro eodem tene- 
mento sectam ad curiam de Lacock, de tribus septimanis in 
tres septimanas cum scutagio. Abbatissa vero et Conventus 
divinae charitatis intuitu duxerunt dictam sectam bis per an- 
num, cum solutione I2d. pro scutagio. 

[Fol. 94, a.] 

Rogerus de Stodlegh dedit eisdem Monialibus Sd. redditus 
annuos quos Galiana relicta Herborti filii Petri ei reddere con- 
suevit de tenemento quod de eo tenuit in villa de Cain. 

[Fol. 94, b.] 

Galiena de Cain dedit dictis Monialibus unum mesuagium 
in villa de Cain, de feodo domini Regis, et unum mesuagium 
in Churchestrete, et unam acram terras in Rixforlonge, et aliam 
acram ad Bernestede cum quodam mesuagio, et sex acras 
terrae quas emit de Nicholao Cynnoc, et duas acras terrae quas 
emit de Waltero filio Mathei le Bret ; et totam terram quae 
jacet inter Herewiestrete et terras quas habuerunt Gille Pistor 
et Hunfridus Bere ; reddendo inde annuatim domino Regi sex 

c 2 



XXXVI CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

denarius, et Rectori Ecclesiee de Cain 12rf. et quadrantem, et 
heredibus Nicholai Cynnoc 6d. et regale servitium quantum ad 
illos pertinet ; et haeredibus Walteri filii Mathei le Bret 3d. et 
haeredibus Alexandri de Stodele 8d. pro omni servitio. 



[Fol. 95, a.] 
Eadem Galiena per aliam cartam dedit eisdem Monialibus 
totum mesuagium suum in villa de Cain. 

[Fol. 96, b ] 
Agnes de Roudon dedit totam terram quam Rogerus Soper 
aliquando tenuit, cum sedificiis ei omnibus pertinentiis, in villa 
de Chippenham, et unam placeam terrae. 

[Fol. 97, a.] 

Henricus de Bechampton dedit totam terram suam et tene- 
mentum in villa de Chipeham (nunc Chippenham). 

[Fol. 98, a.] 

Radulfus le Franceis dedit eidem Conventui burgagium et 
totam terram quam habuit de dono Adse aurifabri in villa de 
Treubrige, reddendo inde annuatim dicto Adse unum denarium 
et capitali domino unam libram piperis, pro omni servitio. 

[Fol. 99, a.] 
Johanna de Osevilla, relicta Willelmi de Rugdon, dedit 
eisdem redditum quadragintasolidorum annuatim percipiendum 
de tenemento quod Walterus de la Slad tenuit in parochia de 
Boxa, cum eodem Waltero, cum omni servitio debito ab eodem 
Waltero et haeredibus suis j haec omnia libera ab omni servitio 
seculari. 

[Fol. 99, b.] 

Walterus de Pavely dictae Johannae cartam recitat et dona- 
tionem confirmat. 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XXXVII 

[Fol. 100, a.] 
Walterus de Godarvilla relaxavit eisdem Monialibus sectam 
quam supradictus Walterus de la Slade facere ei solebat in 
Hundredo suo de Chippeham de tribus septimanis in tres sep- 
timanas. 

[Fol. 101, a.] 

Ela Comitissa Sarum dedit totum manerium suum de Ha- 
therop cum pertinentiis. 

Willelmus Longespeye, dictse Elae filius, confirmavit dona- 
tionem matris suae. 



Conventio inter Hugonem Abbatem Cyrencestrice et ejusdem loci 
Conventum ex una parte, et Wimarcam Prior issam et Conventum 
de Lacock ex altera. 

[Fol. 101, b.] 
Haec est Conventio facta inter Hugonem Abbatem Cyren- 
cestrie et ejusdem loci Conventum, videlicet quod predicti 
Abbas et Conventus Cyrencestrie concesserunt pro se et suc- 
cessoribus suis imperpetuum quod eorum Baillivi tantummodo 
bis in anno venient apud Hetherop ad visum franchi plegii fa- 
ciendum in Curia predicte Priorisse et Conventus de Lacock, 
scilicet de loquelis ad coronam domini Regis spectantibus, et 
omnibus aliis ad visum franchi plegii pertinentibus, videlicet, 
circiter festum Sancti Martini, et circiter Hockeday, quando 
Baillivi predictorum Abbatis et Conventus curiam predictam 
facient summoniri ; ita quod omnes homines infra libertatem 
predicts Priorisse et Conventus de Lacock manentes, nisi qui 
rationabilem causam habeant quare venire non possint, ad pre- 
dictos duos dies venient, ubi omnes loquelas ad visum franchi 
plegii Baillivis prsedictorum Abbatis et Conventus monstra- 
bunt, que ad dictos duos dies per visum Baillivorum Abbatis 
et Conventus terminabuntur ; et homines infra libertatem pre- 
dicte Priorisse et Conventus de Lacock manentes ad singulos 



XXXV111 CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

duorum dierum dabunt predictis Abbati et Conventui triginta 
denarios, sive curia amerciata fuerit sive non, pro omnibus oc- 
casionibus et amerciamentis ad predictum visum pertinentibus ; 
et amerciamenta si que ibi evenerint, predicte Priorisse et ejus 
Conventui remaneant ; ita quod si latro et latrocinium capta 
fuerint in libertate predicte Priorisse et Conventus de Lacock, 
ducentur sine dilatione ad prisonam Abbatis et Conventus Cy- 
rencestrie et ibidem recipientur et judicabuntur. Similiter si 
clamor levatus fuerit in libertate predicte Priorisse et Con- 
ventus de Lacock, et per stultitiam conquerentis vel per for- 
tiam Viceeomitis, vel per Baillivos suos, trahatur ilia predicta 
loquela ad Comitatum Gloucestrie, et per Abbatem et Con- 
ventum vel per eorum Baillivos extrabatur eadem loquela, vel 
si aliquis alius clamor in libertate praedicte Priorisse et Con- 
ventus de Lacock levatus fuerit, et per Baillivos earum vel per 
Baillivos Abbatis et Conventus Cyrencestri attachiatus, Abbas 
et Conventus Cyrencestrie de omnibus extraneis extra liber- 
tatem predicte Priorisse et Conventus de Lacock manentibus, 
occasione predictorum clamorum attachiatis, amerciamenta ha- 
bebunt. Similiter predicta Priorissa et ejus Conventus de om- 
nibus hominibus in libertate sua manentibus et occasione pre- 
dictorum clamorum attachiatis habebunt amerciamenta. Si- 
militer si aliqua querimonia facta fuerit per aliquem de averiis 
captis et retentis contra vadium et plegium de predicta Prio- 
rissa et Conventu de Lacok, vel aliquo alio in eorum libertate 
manente, Abbas et Conventus Cyrencestrie loquelas illas et 
amerciamenta inde provenientia habebunt. Similiter si quis 
inventus fuerit in libertate predicte Priorisse et Conventus sui 
de Lacock, qui sit extra assisam domini Regis et ibidem ultra 
unum annum et unum diem moratus fuerit sine licentia Bailli- 
vorum Abbatis et Conventus, Abbas et Conventus Cyrencestrie 
amerciamenta si que inde inciderint, habebunt. Et omnis 
quicumque fuerint qui in tethyngam intrare debebunt, coram 
Baillivis Abbatis et Conventus Cyrencestrie in tethingham in- 
trabunt, salvo denario de ingressu tethynge tethingmanno 
predicte Priorisse et Conventus de Lacok. Et omnes alie lo- 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. XXXIX 

quele et querele predicte Priorisse et ejus Conventui remane- 
bunt. Et ut haec conventio rata et stabilis imperpetuum 
permaneat, presens scriptum inter predictum Abbatera et Con- 
ventum Cyrencestrie et Priorissam sepe dictam et Conventum 
suum de Lacock, est ad modum Cyrographi confectum, et 
parti predictorum Abbatis et Conventus sigillum dicte Pri- 
orisse et Conventus de Lacock est appensum ; et similiter parti 
Priorisse et sui Conventus sigillum predictorum Abbatis et 
Conventus est appositum. 

[Fol. 103, a.] 

Hugelina relieta Randulfi de Landebroil quietum clamavit 
eisdem Monialibus tertiam partem unius hyde terre in villa de 
Hetherop, anno regni Regis Henrici filii Regis Johannis xx™ , 
pro qua quieta elamatione dicte Moniales ei dederunt quinqua- 
ginta solidos. 

[Fol. 103, b.] 
Ela Longespeye Comitissa Warriwici quietum clamavit eis- 
dem totum jus quod habuit in manerio de Hatherop, pro qua 
quieta elamatione dicte Moniales obligaverunt se reddere dicte 
Comitisse g£20 sterlingorum annuatim ad vitam suam ; sub 
pena ^10. argenti in subsidium Terre Sancte solvendarum pro 
singulis terminis et loco non observatis, una cum dampnis et 
expensis, &c. Dat. apud Lacock^ die sabbati proximo post 
festum Sancti Edmundi Regis et Martyris, anno regni Regis 
Edwardi filii Regis Henrici sextodecimo. 

[Fol. 104, b] 

Eadem Ela Comitissa per aliam cartam dedit eisdem totam 
terram quam emit de domino Ingeramo le Waleys in villa de 
Hatherop, cum omnibus villanis et sequelis eorum, pratis, pas- 
cuis, pasturis, viis, semitis, &c. 



Xl CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 



Licentia Regis Edwardi primi Elm Comitissm de Warwick concessa 
de ponendo terras in Hatherop ad- manum mortuam. 

[Fol. 105, a.] 

Edwardus Dei gratia Rex Anglie, Dominus Hibernie, et Dux 
Aquitanie, omnibus ad quos presentes littere pervenerint salu- 
tem. Licet de communi consilio regni nostri providerimus 
quod non liceat viris religiosis seu aliis ingredi feodum ali- 
cujus ita quod ad mortuam manum deveniat sine licentia nostra 
et capitalis domini de quo res ilia immediate tenetur, volentes 
tamen dilecte nobis Ele Comitisse Warwyk gratiam facere 
specialem, dedimus ei licentiam quantum in nobis est, quod 
unum mesuagium et duodecim virgatas terre cum pertinentiis 
in Etherop dare possit et assignare dilectis nobis in Christo 
Abbatisse et Monialibus de Lacock, tenenda et habenda sibi 
et successoribus suis imperpetuum ; et eisdem Abbatisse et Mo- 
nialibus quod mesuagium illud et terram ab eadem Comitissa 
reeipere possint, tenore presentium similiter licenciam conce- 
dimus specialem. Nolentes quod prefata Comitissa, seu pre- 
dictae Abbatissa et Moniales, ratione predicti statuti per nos 
vel heredes nostros inde occasionentur in aliquo vel graventur. 
Salvis tamen capitalibus dominis feodi illius serviciis inde de- 
bitis et consuetis. In cujus rei testimonium has litteras nostras 
fieri fecimus patentes. Teste meipso apud Karnarvan ivt° die 
Maii, anno regni nostri duodecimo. 

[Fol. 105, b.] 

Ela Comitissa Warwick coram Justiciariis Domini Regis 
apud Walton, anno tricesimo Regis Henrici filii Regis Johannis, 
recognovit manerium de Heythrop cum pertinentiis esse jus 
Abbatisse et Conventus de Lacock ; et pro hac recognitione 
predicta Abbatissa concessit predicte Comitisse predictum 
manerium tenendum tota vita sua de predicta Abbatissa et 
successoribus suis reddendo inde per annum centum solidos 
sterlingorum. Et post mortem ipsius Comitisse predictum 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. xll 

manerium redire debebat ad dictas Abbatissas. Pro hac con- 
cessione et remissione ipsa Comitissa remisit et quietum cla- 
mavit de se et heredibus suis predicte Abbatisse, &c. totum jus 
et clamium quod habuit in viginti libris terre quas predicta 
Comitissa prius tenuit de Willelmo Longespeye in Cettre im- 
perpetuum. 

[Fol. 106, b.] 

Constancia de Lega, vidua, dedit eisdem Monialibus redditum 
suum de Calemundesdem, scilicet 35s. per annum quos ei 
solebant reddere Hospitalarii Jerosolemitani. 

[Fol. 107, a.] 

Willelmus de Marre de Ryndecumbe remisit eidem Con- 
ventui pro septemdecim marcis sterlingorum, homagium, fideli- 
tatem , relevium, herietum, tallagia ad eum pertinentia, aux- 
ilia arandi, seminandi, herciandi, serculandi, metendi, et cari- 
andi, et omnimodas escaetas et sectas omnium curiarum ad se 
et ad heredes suos spectancium. Excepta secta ad visum 
franci plegii domini Comitis Gloucestrie bis per annum apud 
Rindecumbe facienda. Remisit etiam eisdem omnes distric- 
tiones factas et faciendas, auxilium ad faciendum militem 
filium suum primogenitum, et ad filiam suam primogenitam 
maritandam, omne scutagium et servicium militare, et redditum 
annuum sex denariorum, et omnimodas demandas que aliquo 
casu fieri possent de manerio de Wodemancote ; et idem te- 
nentibus Abbatisse et villanis in dicto manerio. 

[Fol. 107, b.] 

Constancia de Lega dedit Deo et Beate Marie totum ma- 
nerium de Wudemanecote, ad faciendam in villa de Lacock 
Abbathiam Monialium, quam voluit nominari Locum Beate 
Marie. 

Nicholaus de Mara, Rector ecclesie de Thodesthorn, remisit 
Monialibus de Lacock totum jus quod habuit de duabus ca- 
rucatis terre et 21 solidis redditus in Woudemanecote. 



xlii CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

[Fol. Ill, a.] 
Walterus dictus filius Capellani de Egesworth, remisit eisdem 
Monialibus totam terram suam quam habuit in Wudemanecote. 

[Fol. Ill, b.] 

Radulphus de Maurathin dedit eisdem Monialibus pratum 
quod habuit manerio de Wodemancote juxta pontem de Be- 
roford, quod vocabatur Malewardesham. 

[Fol. 112, a.] 

Agnes relicta Radulfi de Mauerdin, dedit eisdem tertiam 
partem cujusdam prati quod vocatur Malewardesham. 

Gilbertus de Henleie dedit duas acras terrse arabiles in 
campis de Wodemancote, pro qua donatione Moniales dederunt 
ei undecim solidos et decern denarios in garsuma. 

[Fol. 112, b.] 

Idem Gilbertus per aliam cartam dedit quatuor acras terrse 
et diinidiam in eisdem campis de Wodemancote, pro viginti 
solidis argenti. 

[Fol. 113, a.] 

Alia carta ejusdem remittit eisdem Monialibus easdem qua- 
tuor acras et dimidiam. 

[Fol. 113, b.] 
Idem Gilbertus per aliam cartam concessit eisdem decern acras 
terrai in Wodemancote, pro qua concessione dictae Moniales 
dederunt ei quadraginta et tres solidos et sex denarios sterlin- 
gorum. 

[Fol. 114, a.] 

Idem concessit alias duas acras terrae arabilis in eadem villa, 
pro qua donatione recepit a Monialibus octo solidos sterlingorum 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. xliii 

[Fol.114, b.] 

Duas alias acras concessit, pro quibus dederunt ei Moniales 
decern solidos. 

[Fol.115, br\ 

Gilbertus de Henlega concessit Conventui de Lacock, quod 
ipse non venderet ad terminum nee in perpetuum aliquam ter- 
rain vel aliquid de tenemento suo sine licentia conventus ; et si 
faceret qubd liberum possent habere ingressum dictae Moniales 
in omnibus tenementis suis et ea habere in perpetuum. 

[Fol. 117, a] 

Henricus Peverel, de Wodemancote, concessit eisdem Mo- 
nialibus duodecim acras terrae arabilis in Wodemancote, ja- 
centes in campo qui vocatur Morecumbe, reddendo inde ad 
Pascha Johanni Gerard, unum par cyrothecarum de pretio 
unius oboli, cum eas querat ad domum suam in Wodemancote 
pro omni servitio, salvo Regali servicio. 

[Fol. 118, a.] 

Henricus Peverel de Wodemancote remisit eisdem totum 
tenementum cum pertinentiis quod de eis tenebat in Wode- 
mancote, reddendo inde annuatim Galfrido Peverel et haere- 
dibus suis sex denarios annuatim pro omnibus serviciis. 

Annoregni Regis Henrici filii Regis Johannis, Constantia de 
Lega, coram Justiciariis Domini Regis, recognovit duas caru- 
catas terra? cum pertinentiis in Wodemancote unde placitum 
warantiae fuerat inter eas, esse jus Conventus de Lacock. 

[Fol. 119, b.] 
Petronilla filia Roberti de Damenevilla concessit eisdem Mo- 
nialibus viginti duas acras terrae arabilis de dominica terra sua 
in manerio de Button, videlicet in Northfelde, &c. 

[F Q 1. 120, a.] 
Robertus Marmiun remisit eisdem totum jus quod habuit in 



XJIV CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

terris et tenementis quae Robertas Perpunt tenuit apud Hanum, 
pro qua remissione dictae Moniales dederunt ei 40s. 

Petronilla de Damenvilla dedit eisdem totam terram quam 
habuit in manerio de Button, faciendo inde Regi debitum ser- 
vitium. 

[Fol. 123, a.] 

Agnes relicta Athelmi Germund dedit eisdem duo stalla in 
villa de Bristoll, reddendo inde annuatim domino Regi duo- 
decirn denarios annuatim pro omni servitib. 

Matildis filia Athelmi Germund dedit eisdem duos solidos 
annui redditus de domo sua qua? erat sita inter domum Ge- 
rardi le Franceis et ecclesiam Sancti Laurentii, solutos "ab 
omni seculari servitio. 

[Fol. 123, b.] 
Johannes Tyke de Bristoll dedit domum quam tenuit versus 
Monkebrige, cum terra vacua ad eandem domum pertinente, 
solutam ab omni seculari servitio. 

[Fol. 128, a.] 

Walterus Alius et heres Radulfi Godwyne de Rubrigge dedit 
et quietum clamavit eisdem Monialibus unum mesuagium et 
totam terram et tenementum cum communi pastura et omni- 
bus aisiamentis et pertinentiis suis quae habuit de hereditate 
sua in Ruthrugge, tenendum ab eisdem tanquam jus earum per- 
tinens ad liberum manerium earum de North Schorewell, libere, 
quiete, &c. ab omni exactione. Pro hac concessione dictae 
Moniales dederunt ei centum solidos argenti in gersumam. 

[Fol. 128, b.] 

Beatrix relicta Egidii de Sancto Stephano reddidit et quie- 
tum clamavit totum jus et clamium quod habuit in terra quae 
vocatur Sydewynesfurlang in Northscorewell. 

Amicia Comitissa Devoniae et Domina Insulae, in viduitate 
sua, pro animabus mariti sui et omnium parentum suorum, 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. xlv 

dedit Monialibus de Lacock cum corde suo totum raanerium 
suum de Schorewell cum omnibus pertinentiis suis, et cum om- 
nibus hominibus in predicta terra degentibus et eorum sequelis, 
et omnibus aliis pertinentiis. Preterea concessit eisdem pra?- 
dictum manerium cum omnibus pertinentiis suis desaforestatum, 
ita quod nihil occasione foresta? vel warenna? ab eis aliquo 
tempore exigatur. 

[Fol. 129, b.] 

Isabella de Fortibus Comitissa Albemarlae et Devonian et 
Domina Insula?, filia Amicia? Comitissa? praedicta?, confirmavit 
donationem matris suae. 

Eadem Isabella remisit eisdem Monialibus sectam curiarum, 
wardam, et relevium, quae ei debebant de manerio de Schore- 
well supradicto. 

Eadem Isabella per aliam cartam suam concessit quod dicta? 
Moniales habeant omnia amerciamenta hominum suorum ma- 
nerii de Schorwell supradicti in Insula de Wycht quotiescun- 
que dictos homines in curia sua de Neuport amerciari conti- 
gerit ; salvis tamen eidem Isabella? Comitissa? et heredibus suis 
amerciamentis de transgressionibus sibi, heredibus, Ballivis et 
ministris suis, per predictam Abbatissam seu homines suos qua- 
litercumque illatis. Ita etiam quod omnes homines dictae Ab- 
batissa? dicti manerii sui de Schorewell veniant ad visum 
franchi plegii, vel Lagheday, sive Hundredum de Westmedeine 
apud Caresbrok bis per annum coram Baillivis predicta? Isa- 
bella? Comitissa? et heredum suorum ad pacem domini Regis 
attingendam, et ibidem faciant presentationes et responsiones 
sicut alii de predicto Hundredo ibidem faciunt de omnibus 
articulis qui ad visum franchi plegii sive Lagheday spectant 
secundum consuetudinem in partibus illis usitatam. Et si 
aliquis vel aliqui hominum seu tenentium dictarum Abbatissa? 
et^Conventus dicti manerii sui de Schorewell, pro assisa panis 
et cervisie fracta, vel pro aliquo alio delicto pro quo judicium 
meruerint corporale, puniri debeant per Ballivos et considera- 
tionem curie predicte Isabelle et heredum suorum, fiat de eis 



Xlvi CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

judicium secundum legem et consuetudinem regni. Et pre- 
dicta Abbatissa et Conventus concedunt pro se et successori- 
bus suis quod si aliquod scriptum in manibus suis vel succes- 
sorum suorum de cetero inveniatur per quod homines et te- 
nentes sui quieti esse debeant vel esse consueverunt de veni- 
endo ad Hundredum predicte Isabelle Comitisse vel heredum 
suorum quod appellatur Lagheday sive visus franci plegii, vel 
per quod dicta Abbatissa et Conventus vel earum successores 
visum franci plegii sive Lagheday de hominibus et tenentibus 
suis tenere poterant vel consueverant, qubd idem scriptum 
quoad articulum ilium, scilicet franchi plegii sive Lagheday 
Hundredi, pro nullo habeatur, quia quicquid juris vel clamii 
habuerunt in predicto visu habendo seu tenendo tenore pre- 
sents scripti remiserunt predictae Comitissa?. 

[Fol. 131, a.] 

Willelmus de Poldon remisit Monialibus de Lacock, totum 
jus quod habuit in manerio de Northschorewell in Insula de 
Wyght, anno Regis Edwardi (primi) tertiodecimo, pro qua re- 
missione Moniales ei dederunt triginta marcas argenti. 

[Fol. 131, b.] 
Willelmus Huse de Poledon, anno quartodecimo Regis Ed- 
wardi filii regis Henrici, coram Justiciariis dicti regis, recog- 
novit unum mesuagium et duas carucatas terrae cum pertinen- 
tiis in North Schorewell, esse jus Monialium de Lacock, et pro 
hac recognitione dictae Moniales dederunt ei triginta marcas 
argenti. 

[Fol. 132, a.] 

Jordanus de Kynggeston quietum clamavit eisdem unam 
virgatam terrae cum pertinentiis in Schorewell, exceptis duabus 
carectatis spinarum et una carectata virgarum quas annuatim 
recipiebat in boscis dictarum Monialium; ita tamen quod pre- 
dictus Conventus haberet annuatim de predicta virgata terrae 
unarn marcam argenti in die Purificationis Beatae Mariae ad 
pitanciam. 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. xlvii 

[Fol. 136, b.] 

Placita coram domino Rege apud Westmonasterium de ter- 
mino Sanctse Trinitatis, anno regni Regis Henrici VHIvi viiivo. 
Rot. xiii. inter placita Regis. Memorandum quod Reverendis- 
simus in Christo pater Thomas permissione divina Cardinalis 
Archiepiscopus Eboracensis, Domini Regis Cancellarius, die 
Veneris proxima post Octabas Sancti Johannis Baptistae, isto 
eodem termino coram domino Rege apud Westmonasterium, 
per manus suas proprias deliberavit hie in Curia quoddam Re- 
cordum coram domino Rege in Cancellaria sua apud Westmo- 
nasterium secundo die Junii, anno regni Regis Henrici VTIIvi 
post Conquestum Anglie viiivo. Suth. 

Compertum est per quandam Inquisitionem captam apud 
Castrum de Carsbroke in Insula Vecta in Comitatu Suthamp- 
ton tertio die Novembris anno regni Regis Henrici septimi vi- 
cesimo quarto coram Abbate de Quarre, Amicio Paulet milite, 
Nicholao Wadham milite, Thoma Wadshawe, et Thoma 
Thomas armigeris, necnon Johanne Grenge, Jurisperitis Com- 
missionariis dicti domini Regis in Insula praedicta virtute com- 
missionis dicti domini Regis eisdem commissionariis directae et 
huic Inquisitioni consignatis, per sacramentum xiicim. & Cc Qui 
inter alia dicunt super sacramentum suum quod Abbatissa 
domus et ecclesiae de Lacock, in Comitatu Wiltes, ex funda- 
cione dicti domini Regis, fuit seisita de manerio de Schorewell 
cum pertinentiis in Insula praedicta in dominico suo ut de feodo, 
et tenuit manerium praedictum cum pertinentiis de Edwardo 
quarto nuper Rege Angliae in capite per servitium militare, et 
quod manerium predictum cum pertinentiis valet per annum 
in omnibus exitibus ultra reprisas sexdecim libras, et quod 
praedicta Abbatissa obiit sexto die Februarii, anno regni Ed- 
wardi quarti nuper Regis Angliae vicesimo secundo ; et quod 
Margeria Gloucestriae Abbatissa immediate post mortem prae- 
dictae Abbatissae intravit et intrusit in manerium praedictum 
cum pertinentiis, et manerium praedictum cum pertinentiis a 
tempore mortis praedictae Abbatissae praedecessoris suae tenuit 



Xlviii CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

et occupavit, et omnia exitus et proficua inde per totum idem 
tempus et deinceps usque tempus captionis Inquisitionis prae- 
dictae habuit et percepit absque aliqua restitutione inde habita 
extra manus regias, prout per Inquisitionem illam in Cancella- 
riam domini Regis retornatam et in filaciis ejusdem Cancellariie 
remanentem plenius apparet. Et modo hie terminus Sanctse 
Trinitatis, videlicet secundo die mensis Junii anno regni Regis 
Henrici octavi viiivo, venit hie in curiam Cancellaria? ejusdem 
domini Regis, coram eodem domino Rege, Johanna Temys, 
Abbatissa de Laycock, per Ricardum Wellys attornatum suum, 
et queritur predictam Margeriam nuper Abbatissam de Lacock 
predicta in dicta Inquisitione nominatam, predecessorem ipsius 
Johanne nunc Abbatisse, a possessione manerii predicti colore 
Inquisitionis predicte ammotam fore et expulsam. Et hoc 
minus juste quia protestando quod predicta Inquisitio minus 
sufficiens est in lege, ad quam ipsa nunc Abbatissa necesse non 
habet nee per legem terre tenetur respondere pro placito, die 
quod predicte Domus et Ecclesia de Laycoke, in Inquisitione 
predicta specificate, sunt ac toto tempore dictorum nuper regis 
Henrici Vlllmi, et Edwardi IVti, et diu antea fuerunt ex funda- 
tione domini Regis ratione ducatus sui Lancastrie, ac quod 
predicta nuper Abbatissa in dicta Inquisitione primo nominata 
predecessor ipsius nunc Abbatisse fuit seisita in dicto manerio 
de Shorewell cum pertinentiis in dominico suo ut de feodo in 
jure Domus et Ecclesie suarum predictarum, et illud tenuit de 
heredibus Amicie quondam Comitisse Devonie et Domine de 
Insula predicta, in liberam puram et perpetuam elemosinam, et 
obiit de tali statu inde seisita ; post cujus mortem predicta Mar- 
geria nuper Abbatissa in Abbatissam Domus et Ecclesie pre- 
dictarum debite electa et prefecta fuit, per quod eadem Mar- 
geria nuper Abbatissa, &c. in manerium predictum cum perti- 
nentiis intravit et inde fuit seisita in dominico suo ut de feodo, 
in jure Domus et Ecclesie suarum predictarum, ac exitus et 
proficua inde per tempus predictum habuit et percepit prout ei 
bene licuit, quousque ipsa a possessione manerii predicti colore 
Inquisitionis predicte minus juste ammota fuit et expulsa ; die- 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. xlix 

taque Margeria nuper Abbatissa postea obift, post cujus mor- 
tem eadem Johanna nunc Abbatissa in Abbatissam domus et 
ecclesie predicte debite electa et prefecta fuit, absque hoc quod 
predicte domus et ecclesia sunt aut unquam fuere ex funda- 
tione dicti nuper Regis Henrici septimi aut aliquorum proge- 
nitorum suorum Regum Anglie ut de jure corone sue Anglie 
prout per inquisitionem predictam compertum existit. Et 
absque hoc quod predicta nuper Abbatissa in dicta Inquisi- 
tione primo nominata tenuit predictum manerium cum perti- 
nentiis seu aliquam inde parcellam de dicto nuper Rege E. 
quarto in capite per servitium militare aut aliter vel aliquo alio 
modo quam per eandem transactionem allegatur aut quod 
habeat seu unquam habeatur aliquod recordum preter re- 
cordum inquisitionis predicts per quod liquere potest quod 
predictum manerium seu aliqua inde parcella unquam tene- 
batur de predicto nuper Rege Edwardo quarto aut aliquo alio 
Rege Anglie in capite aut per servitium militare prout per In- 
quisitionem predictam similiter compertum existit. Que omnia 
et singula eadem nunc Abbatissa parata est verificare prout 
Curie constabit, &c. unde petit judicium et quod manus domini 
Regis inde amoveatur, &c. 

Et Johannes Erneley qui pro domino Rege sequitur in hac 
parte inde allocutus dicit protestando quod predicte domus et 
ecclesia sunt et a tempore quo non extat memoria fuerunt ex 
fundatione predicti nuper Regis Henrici viimi et progenitorum 
suorum Regum Anglie, prout per Inquisitionem predictam su- 
perius compertum existit. Pro placito dicit quod predicta 
nuper Abbatissa in inquisitione predicta primo nominata tenuit 
predictum manerium cum pertinentiis de predicto nuper Rege 
E. quarto in capite per servitium militare prout per inquisitio- 
nem predictam superius similiter compertum existit. Et hoc 
pro eodem domino Rege petit quod inquiratur per prieram. 
Et predicta nunc Abbatissa similiter. Igitur dies data est 
eidem nunc Abbatisse coram domino rege in octava Sancti Jo- 
hannis Baptiste ubicumque tunc fuerit in Anglia, ad faciendum 
et recipiendum quod justum fuerit in premissis. Et preceptum 

d 



1 CARTULARY OF LACOCK. 

est Vicecomiti Suthampton quod venire faciat coram eodem 
domino Rege ad diem ilium xxivor. tam milites quam alios 
probos et legales homines de visneto manerii de Shorwell qui 
prefatam nunc Abbatissam nulla affinitate attingant, ad recog- 
noscendum per eorum sacramentum super premissis plenius 
veritatem. Ad quas quidem octavas Sancti Johannis Baptiste 
isto eodem Termino coram domino Rege apud Westmonas- 
terium venit predicta Johanna Temys nunc Abbatissa de La- 
cock per Willelmum Inssard attornatum suum. Et Vicecomes 
retornavit xxivor Juratores quorum nullus, &c. Igitur pre- 
ceptum est Vicecomiti quod non omittat, &c. quin discretos 
per omnio terre, &c. Et quod de Exit. Et quod habeat cor- 
pora eorum coram Rege in octavis Sancti Michaelis ubicun- 
que, &c. vel coram Justiciariis domini Regis ad Assisas in Co- 
mitatu predicto capiendas assignatis die Lune proximo ante 
festum Sancte Marie Magdalene apud Wynton per formam 
statuti, &c. Venerunt ad faciendum jure predicto, &c. Idem 
dies datus est tam prefato Johanni Erneley qui sequitur, &c. 
quam prefate nunc Abbatisse, &c. ad quas quidem octavas 
Sancti Michaelis coram domino Rege apud Westmonasterium 
venit dicta Abbatissa per Attornatum suum predictum et pre- 
fatos Justiciaries domini Regis ad assisas, coram quibus, &c 
missum hie recordum suum coram eis habitum in hec verba. 
Postea die et loco infra contento coram Ricardo Elyot et Lo- 
dowico Pollard Justiciariis domini Regis ad assisas in Comitatu 
Suthampton capiendas assignatos per formam statuti, &c. 
venit infra nominata Johanna Temys Abbatissa domus et ec- 
clesie de Laycock per Ricardum Mathewe attornatum suum. 
Et Jurati Juramentis unde fit mensio exactis similiter venerunt 
et super hoc proclamacio pro domino Rege solempniter facta 
si quis pro ipso domino Rege Justiciariis predictis, servientes 
et attornatos ipsius domini Regis et juratos predictos informare 
vellet veniret et audiretur. Et Thomas Ellyot pro domino 
Rege ad faciendum se optulit per quod procedatur ad cap- 
tionem Inquisitionis predicte Jurati predicti ad hoc electi, 
triati et jurati dicunt super sacramentum suum quod infra- 



CARTULARY OF LACOCK. Il 

scripte domus et ecclesia de Lacock non sunt nee unquam 
fuere ex fundacione infra nominati nuper Regis Henrici viinri 
aut aliquorum progenitorum suorum Regum Anglie ut de jure 
corone sue Anglie. Set dicunt super sacramentum suum quod 
predicte domus et ecclesia de Lacock, infra scripte in Inqui- 
sitione specificate, sunt et unquam fuerunt ex fundatione do- 
mini Regis ratione Ducatus sui Lancastrie. Et ulterius dicunt 
super sacramentum suum quod infra nominata Abbatissa in 
infra scripta inquisitione prius nominata nunquam tenuit ma- 
nerium infra scriptum de Shorewell seu aliquam inde parcellam 
de infra nominato Rege E. quarto per servitium militare, vel 
immediate aliquo alio modo. Set iidem Jurati dicunt quod 
predicta Abbatissa in Inquisitione predicta primo nominata 
tenuit manerium predictum cum pertinentiis de heredibus infra 
nominate Amicie quondam Comitisse Devonie, et Domine de 
Insula Vecte, in liberam puram et perpetuam elemosinam modo 
et forma prout predicta Johanna Temys inferius allegavit. 
Super quo visis premissis et per Curiam hie intellects omnibus 
et singulis premissis servientes domini Regis ad Leges ac ipsius 
Regis Attornatus ad hoc convocatus et presentibus concessum 
est quod manus domini Regis a possessione ipsius Regis pre- 
dicti manerii de Shorewell cum pertinentiis in Insula predicta 
amoveatur &c. Et quod predicta Abbatissa domus et ecclesie 
de Lacock, in Comitatu Wiltes, ad possessionem ejusdem ma- 
nerii de Shorewell cum pertinentiis in Insula predicta, una 
cum exitibus et proficuis inde a tempore captionis Inquisicionis 
predicte hucusque perceptis restituatur. Salvo semper jure 
Regis si quod, &c. 

Sequitur in hoc registro de Lacock Petitio Willelmi Sands 
Militis, Vicecomitis Suthamptonise, petens exonerari de ,=£16. 
de exitu manerii de Shorewell supradicti, de qua summa Ba- 
rones Scaccarii eum exoneraverunt. 



Notandum quod Chartae in hoc registro non sunt dispositae 
secundum ordinem temporis, et quod maxima ex parte deest 
data, sicut videre est in his excerptis. 

d2 



lii 



DEED RELATING TO LACOCK FAIR. 

(From the original at Lacock Abbey. J 

Feut a remenbrer q le Jeody apres la Translacion de 
Seynt Thomas le martyr Lan de reugne le Roy Edward 
trentisme qrt. furnt baillez cynk deniers e maille a mon 
Sire John de Holt Chivaler atenyr en owelyne* mayn 
tantq: ala feste de Seynt Bartholomew queu deniers 
Labbesse de Lacok prist en noun de toun a sa fayre de 
Lacok des genz de Keyneshrh de sa vile de Marsvelde 

eest aconvenuz entre la diste Abbesse e Sire de 

chaumberer de la meson de Keynesham ■ q le dist John 
vendra a Leglise de Lacok le jour de Seynt Bartholomeu 
e monstra ses munemenz queus eus unt de lour feoffour 
par queus eus deyvent estre quietez de toun deuer en tote 
fayres ■ ausi come il mettent lor chalang • Escrist a Mars- 
felde le jour e lan auant nome (1306). 

Translation. 

Done to remember that on the Thursday after the Transla- 
tion of Saint Thomas the Martyr, in the 34th year of King 
Edward, there were delivered five pence and a farthing to 

Monsire John de Holt, Knight, to hold in hand until 

the feast of St. Bartholomew. Which pence the Abbess of 
Lacock took under the name of a toll or duty at her fair of 

Lacock, from the people of de Keynsham, of his town 

of Marsfield. And it is agreed between the said Abbess and 

Sir _, Chamberlain of the house of Keynsham, that the 

said John shall come to the church of Lacock the day of Saint 
Bartholomew, and shall show their title-deeds, which they have 
from their original grantor, by which they claim to be exempt 
from paying toll at all fairs. And also how they put their 
challenge. Written at Marsfield the day and year above- 
named. 

NOTE. 

This short document, which is in good preservation, bears a 
precise date. The feast of the Translation of St. Thomas was 
July 7. The old French words " maille," a farthing, and 
" toun," a toll or duty, areworthy of remark. 

* This word is illegible. 



liii 



THE GREGORIAN LITURGY, AND ANCIENT HYMN, 
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS. 

The following account of the MS. entitled the Gregorian Liturgy, 
preserved in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury, 
has been kindly furnished to me by Mr. Hatcher. 

This manuscript is justly regarded as a curious piece of an- 
tiquity, though the title given to it is perhaps scarcely appro- 
priate. It was probably written before the time of Bishop Os- 
mund. The decorations of the capital letters are drawn with a 
pen, and exhibit considerable skill in design, and great fertility 
in invention, for no two are exactly alike. It was lent to the 
celebrated Elizabeth Elstob.* by the Dean and Chapter of the 
time, and by her partly transcribed. Her copy is in the pos- 
session of Sir R. C. Hoare, Bart. 

According to the Table prefixed to the Calendar, we may 
deem the manuscript of at least as early a date as the year 959. 
This Calendar ends in 1006. 

The contents are : — Tables and Rules for forming a Calen- 

* Elizabeth Elstob, sister of William Elstob, the divine and 
antiquary, was born at Newcastle in 1683. She acquired a 
considerable knowledge of the Saxon language, and thus at- 
tracted the notice of the learned Dr. Hickes. In 1709 she 
published, by his recommendation, the English Saxon Homily, 
on the birthday of St. Gregory, with an introduction, the pur- 
pose of which was to show the conformity of the Church of 
England with the Anglo-Saxon Church. In 1713 she offered 
to the public " Some Testimonies of Learned Men in favour 
of an intended Edition of the Saxon Homilies." This enter- 
prise she unfortunately was not encouraged to prosecute. She 
published a Saxon Grammar in 1715, and afterwards kept a 
school at Evesham. She received a pension from Queen Caro- 
line, but it ceased on the death of her Royal patroness. She 
died in 1756, in humble circumstances. 



liv GREGORIAN LITURGY AT SALISBURY. 

dar, and a Calendar, regularly computed, for the whole year. 
In each month is drawn the corresponding sign of the Zodiac. 

Next is the Psalter, in Latin, with an interlineary interpre- 
tation, in Anglo-Saxon. The Latin copy was evidently made 
by a person not acquainted with that language, from the errors 
which frequently occur, particularly in the division of words 
The Anglo-Saxon interpretation is by a different hand, and 
apparently at a different time. It is not, however, as has been 
supposed, a literal translation, but merely the Anglo-Saxon 
word, answering to the Latin word, without any regard to the 
sense, or to the structure of the Saxon language. The object 
of this interlineary interpretation seems to have been, to enable 
the priest, to comprehend the general purport of what he was 
reading or chaunting in Latin. To many words and phrases, 
however, no interpretation is given ; and in some instances, the 
Anglo-Saxon does not quite correspond with the Latin. This 
part of the Manuscript is defective. The omissions are the 
first Psalm, part of the 2nd, the 52d, 53rd and 54th, the 101st 
and 102nd, the 110th, 130th, 131st, and 132nd. 

After the Psalms follow the Canticles, the Lord's Prayer, 
the Apostles' Creed, and the Athanasian Canticle, or Creed. 
These are also accompanied by an Anglo-Saxon interpretation. 
With respect to the last, however, the version is in a different 
hand, probably later, and approaching nearer to a literal trans- 
lation. 

Next is the Litany, and afterwards a series of Collects, the 
last of a later period, and both without any interpretation. 
The volume terminates with some fragments, which may pos- 
sibly have been part of the Burial Service, but of a still later 
date than the rest, and without any apparent connection with it. 

There seems to be a sort of frontispiece very curiously drawn 
for the Penitential Psalms. 

Psalm 88. 

D'ne D's salutis meae: in die clamavi et nocte coram te. 
God hielo minre on daeg ic clypede 7 nihtes beforan the 



THE " GLORIA IN EXCELSIS. 



lv 



Intret in conspectu tuo oratio mea: inclina aurem tuam ad 

Ingaeth on ansyne thinre gebed min onhyld earan thine to 

precem meam. Quia repleta est malis animamea: et vita 

bene minre Fortham gefullaed is yvel sawel min 7 lif 

mea inferno appropinquavit. 
min on belle neahlsehte. 

Psalm 148. 

Laudate D'n'm de celis : laudate eum in excelsis : Laudate 
Heriatb ofbeofenan bine on beabnesse Heriatb 

eum om's angeli eius : Laudate eum omnes virtutes eius. 
bine ealle englas bis Heriatb bine ealle maena bis 

Laudate eum sol et luna: Laudate eum omnes stelle et 
sune 7 mona storran 7 

lumen : 
leobt. 

The omission of the words repeated, shows that a translation 
was not intended. 

I cannot refrain from quoting one of these Canticles, 
the " Gloria in excelsis," here styled " Oratio pura cum lau- 
datione" as the source from which the beautiful forms of sup- 
plication and thanksgiving, in our Communion Service, are 
derived.* 

Gloria in excelsis D'no. Et in terra pax, hominibus 

Wuldur on beabnesse Gode 7 on eortban sibbe mannii 

bonse voluntatis Laudamus te Benedicimus te Adoramus te Glo- 
godes willan We beriat tbe We bletsiat tbe We gebiddat tbe We 

rificamus te Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam 
wnldiat tbe We tbancas wedatb tbe fore myclum wuldre 

tuam : D'ne D's rex coelestis D'n's pater omnipotens D'ne 

thinu dribten God cininge beovenlic god feeder iElmihti Dribte 

fili unigenite Jh'u X'te D'ne D's Agnus D'i Filius 
sunu ancenned baelend Crist dribten God lamb Godes sunu 

Patris qui tollis peccata mundi miserere nobis, qui 
Faeder tbu tbe ascyndest synna midanserdes milsa us thu 

tollis peccata mundi Suscipe deprecationem n'ram. Qui 
tbe name synna midanserdes onfob balsunga ure thu 

sedes ad dextera' Patris miserere nobis. Q'm tu solus 
the sitst on tha swythran thses Feeder milsa us fortha thu ana 



lvi GREGORIAN LITURGY AT SALISBURY. 

s'c's Tu solus d'n's Tu solus altissim' Jh'u Xp'e cum s'c'o 

hali thu ana drihten thu ana schyhsta mid haligo 

Sp'u. In gloria Dei Patris. Amen. 
Gaste on wuldre Godes faeder thaet si. 

See the remarks on this ancient Hymn in an early part of 
this volume, p. 18. 



lvii 



INDEX. 



Abbesses, election of, 214, 
consecration, 218 ; of La- 
cock; 273, 278, 280. 

Abingdon, St. Edmund, Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, 147, 
201-3, 257. 

Albemarle, the daughters of 
Stephen Earl of, 76*, 79*. 

Albourn, abbey estate at, 326. 

Alms at Lacock, 2S8. 

Amesbury nunnery and bower, 
81, 106 j estate of Lacock 
abbey at, 327- 

Arms in the cloisters at La- 
cock, 350. 

d'Artois, Robert Comte, 233, 
238, et seq. 

Ascalon, Sir Richard, or Wy- 
mound, 247, 2d 1-4. 

Audley, Ela Lady, 148 

Augustinian rule, 191. 

Basset, Philip, 160, 325. 

a' Bathe, family of, 313. 

Baynton, Sir Edward, 289. 

Beatrice of Kent, the Abbess, 
273. 

Beauchamp, Ida and William, 
163. 

Bentlewood monastery, 145. 

Bertrand, Adelicia and Robert, 
79*. 

Bewly court, 349. 

Bingham, Bp. Robert, 185, 370. 

Bishopstrow, 58 note, abbey 
of Lacock's manor at, 31 1. 

Birds, on the notes of, 15. 

Bloet, B. 299 ; Sir Ralph, 
Emma, 103 ; Sir Roger, 



295, 299 ; Sir John, 287, 
288, 300 j Sir William, 295. 
Blyth, tournaments at, 270. 
Bohun, Humphrey cum Barba, 
24; Humphrey the Great, 55, 
56 ; Matilda, 55, 57 ; En- 
gel ger, 79*. 
Bovelingham, James, 99, 265. 
Bradenstoke abbey, 20, 27, 
31—37, 146 5 King John at, 
HI, 
Breant, Falkes de, 109, 114 

note, 118 note, 119,370. 
Brenmule (misprinted Brenne- 

vill), battle of, 53,367. 
Breteville, Robert de, 56. 
Bristol, Lacock abbey estate at, 

327. 
Britany, Arthur Duke of, 109 ; 

pedigree of Dukes, 265*. 
Brus, Peter de, 76. 
Burgh, Hubert de, 130 ; visit 
to Salisbury, 133 ; supposed 
to poison the Earl of Salis- 
bury, 136. 

Reimund de, 13 1,135,369. 

Bytton, abbey estate at, 328. 
Calne, abbey estate at, 32S. 
Camville, ldoneade, 145, 148, 

159 ; barony of, 170. 
Castle at Lacock, 2, 293. 
Chapel, moveable, 145. 
Chateau Galliard, 92. 
Chaz, Ilbertus de, inscription 

to, 352. 
Chester, Ranulph I. Earl of, 71, 

Ranujph II. 74. 
Chicklade, abbey estate at, 329. 



lviii 



INDEX. 



Chippenham, abbey estate at, 
329. 

Chittern, manor of, 321. 

Cirencester abbey, convention 
with Lacock abbey, 304. 

Cleeve abbey, 78*. 

Cliff Pypard, abbey estate at, 
330 ; vicars of, ib. 

Clifford, Rosamund, 101, 161. 

Clinton, John, 163, William, 
156. 

Confessor at Lacock, 287. 

Cooling, manor of, 98, 99, 
157,265*. 

Corfe castle, 73. 

Cormeiles, Sibella, 264 ; Alicia, 
322. 

Cornwall, Richard Earl of, 
campaign in Gascony, 127 ; 
crusade, 223, 247; his re- 
venue from the crusaders, 
228, 229. 

Coronation of Richard I. 81 ; 
of King John, 107. 

Crusades, oath at Northamp- 
ton in 1239, 223 expedi- 
tion of Richard Earl of Corn- 
wall, ib. ; return of a cru- 
sader, 225 ; crusade of St. 
Lewis, 229, et seq. ; custom 
of assuming the cross, and its 
attendant privileges, 225. 

Devereux, family of, 41, 85. 

Devon, Amicia Countess of, 
279, 288. 

Earldoms, investiture of, 108 ; 
succession of, 167. See Sa- 
lisbury and Lincoln. 

Edward of Salisbury. See Sa- 
lisbury. 

Ela, Countess of Salisbury, the 
foundress and first abbess of 
Lacock, her birth, 80 ; se- 
cretion in Normandy, 83 ; 
discovery, 88 ; marriage, 
103 ; assists at the founda- 
tion of Salisbury cathedral, 



125 ; insulted by Reimund 
de Burgh, 132 ; her widow- 
hood, 166 ; founds the abbey 
of Lacock, 171 ; assumes the 
habit of religion, 201 ; an- 
niversary of her profession, 
288, 371 ; vision of her son, 
255 5 resigns the abbacy, 
273; death, 275; her epi- 
taph, 5 ; seal, 168 ; grave- 
stone, 345, 351; charters, 
to Hinton priory, Appx. vi.; 
to Lacock abbey, viii. ix. 

Essex, William Earl of, 138, 
369 ; Christiana Countess 
of, 369. 

Fair at Lacock, 268 ; deed re- 
lating to the tolls of, Appx. 
lii. 

Farley priory,57,146;sepulchral 
antiquities found at, 355. 

Fauconbridge, Shakspeare's 
character, 109. 

Fitzmaurice, Maurice, 156. 

Fitzwalter, Ela, 163 ; Ida, Ka- 
tharine, Lorica, Robert, 162. 

Frederick II. the Emperor, 240. 

Fresnes, Hugh, 153. 

Funeral service, 141; of Wil- 
liam Earl of Salisbury, 138 ; 
of a nun, 276. 

Gaddesden, Herts, 157, 187. 

Gant. See Lincoln. 

Garinges, Alicia, 191, 

Geoffrey, Abp. of York, 30, 102. 

Giffard, Sir Alexander, 247, 
249, 251 ; biographical no- 
tice of, 263. 

John Lord, 151; his 

children, 152. 

Gloria in Excelsis, hymn of, 
18, Appx. lv. 

Godarville, Walter de, 187,331. 

Godderd, family of, 326, 333. 

Gregorian Liturgy in the ca- 
thedral library at Salisbury, 
Appx. liii. 



INDEX. 



lix 



Guise, Sir Richard, 250, 251, 
255. 

Gurney, Hugh de, 138. 

Hannam, abbey estate at, 328. 

Haslebury quarry, 269. 

Hatherop priory, 145, 172 j 
manor of, 303. 

Heart, interment of the, 279, 
280. 

Heddington, manor of, 315. 

Henefeld, Sir Ralph, 247, 250, 
251, 252. 

Hinton priory, foundation of, 
171 ; description of its re- 
mains, 1/4; foundation char- 
ter of, Appx. v\. 

Hocton, Pagan de, 55, 367. 

Hopkins, Nicholas, 1/8. 

Hours observed by the nuns, 
197; the canonical, 198. 

Interdict, in 1211, 113. 

Jewel, Bishop, 37. 

John, Earl (afterwards King), 
anecdote of, 77 ', coronation, 
107 ; migratory life, 106, 
113 3 death, 121. 

Jordan, family of, 292. 

Kiss of peace, 226. 

Keynsham, deed relating to the 
exemption of its inhabitants 
from tolls at Lacock fair, 
Appx. Hi. 

Laci, Alice, 152 ; See Lincoln. 

Lackham, chapel of, 300. 

Lacock, castle at, 2, 293 5 
Domesday survey, 294 ; 
houses of Earl of Salisbury 
at, 122 y market, 268, 274 ; 
fair, 269, Appx. lii. -, foun- 
dation of the church, 295 j 
estates of the abbey at, ib. 
rectors of, 299 ; vicars, 301. 
market cross, 373. 

Lacock Abbey, situation, 2 ; 
foundation of, 171 ; early 
history and charters, ISO — 
189 ; Ela appointed first 



abbess, 214; charters of pri- 
vileges, 26S, 274 ; succession 
of abbesses, 273, 278, 280 j 
taxation in 1291, 279; sur- 
render and seal, 232 ; pen- 
sions, 283 ; survey of, 1535, 
284 ; officers, 289 ; estates, 
293 ; hereditary founders, 
320: rents, &c. in 1540, 334; 
present remains, 347 ; inte- 
rior of the mansion, 358 ; 
visit of Queen Elizabeth, 
359 5 the surrender in 1645, 
ib. nuns' boiler, 360. 

Book of, history of, 



Pref. v. extracts from, 374, 

Appx. i. — v. 
Laycocke, Hugh, 178. 
Lancaster, Alice Countess of, 

152. 
Legh, Constancia de, 190. 
Leybourn, armorial coat of, 

156. 
Lincoln, Earldom of, 47, 6S, 

75. 
William de Romara, 

Earl of, 72. 

Gilbert de Gant, Earl 



of, 79 5 Gilbert II. SO. 

Henrv Laci, Earl of, 



150, 152 5 Margaret Coun- 
tess of , 152, 288. 
Longespe, pedigree of, 149; 
arms, 107 ; seals, 147, 148. 

Alice, 148. 

Ela, 148, 155, 160. 

Emeline, 156. 

Idonea, 1/0. 

Isabella, 160. 

Margaret, 152. 

Matilda, 151. 

Nicholas, 157 j pre- 

sumed gravestone at 
Lacock, 351. 

Petronilla, 160. 

Richard, 14S, 154,370. 

Sir Stephen, 154. 



lx 



INDEX, 



Longespe, William, Duke of 
Normandy, 106. 

William, Earl of Salis- 
bury. See Salisbury. 

William II. marriage, 



169; knighted, 222,371 ; first 
crusade, 223 ; subsequent 
career, 227 ; interview with 
the Pope, 228 ; his second 
crusade, 229 ; his quarrels 
with the Comte d'Artois, 233, 
241, 244 ; death, 254 ; post- 
humous fame, 256 ; bones 
buried at Aeon,, 258 ; mo- 
numental effigy at Salisbury, 
258; children, 148 5 will, 
372. 

William III., his his- 



tory, 150; death, 250, 272. 
William, Rector of 



Brocklesby, 159. 

— miscellaneous records 



of the name, 165. 
Louis IX. 229, 233, 237, 372. 
Lucia, Countess of Chester, 70, 

73. 
Lucy, Geoffrey de, 222, 227, 

261. 
Luvel, Katharine, 325. 
Machinden, abbey estate at, 

331. 
Magna Charta, sealing of, 118; 

copy at Lacock, 357- 
Malmaines, family, 98, 265. 
Maloleone, Savaric de, 105, 

129, 130. 
Maniers, Tirel de, 96. 
Mansoura, assault of, 238 ; 

poem thereon, 242 ; Arabic 

account of, 259. 
de Mare, family of, 309, 373. 
Market at Laeock, 269, 274. 
Marlborough, royal court at, 

135. 
Maydenhyth, John, 288, 330. 
Melksham forest, 269, 274. 
Monasteries, their usual situa- 



tions, 6, 200 ; reflections on, 
200 ; confirmation charters, 
189; reflections on their dis- 
solution, 335 ; names con- 
ferred on, 371- 

Morgan, family of, 324. 

Mowbray, Mabella wife of Ni- 
gel, 96. 

Newhouse, abbey of, 159. 

Norfolk, Roger Earl of, 272. 

Notton, abbey estates at, 303. 

Nuns, rule of St. Augustine, 
191; costume, 194; reli- 
gious observances, 196 5 re- 
ception of novices, 204 ; 
profession, 210 ; election of 
abbesses, 214 ; consecration, 
218; funeral 276; names 
of t hose of Lacock, 1 9 1 , 279, 
283. 

Obits at Lacock, 287. 

Odingsells, Ela and William, 
163. 

Officers of Lacock abbey, 289. 

Old Sarum, 24, 61, 199 ; son- 
net to, 63 ; plan of the ca- 
thedral, 363. 

Patry, William, 98. 

Pavely, Anastasia, Walter, 334. 

Pembroke, William Earl of, 
121, 122; the younger, 138, 
147. 

Perche, Hawise Countess of, 
ped.39. 

Pipard, Isabel, 331. 

Poetry : — Lines to Lady Valle- 
tort, 12 ; sonnet to Old Sa- 
rum, 63 ; lines on children 
gathering flowers in the ca- 
thedral church-yard of New 
Sarum, 64; Lay of Talbot 
the Troubadour, 89* ; Dirge 
of Earl William Longespe, 
142. 

Poore, Bp. Richard, 136, 370. 

Presbiterium, 27- 

"President" of a convent, 205. 



INDEX. 



lxi 



Priests in Lacock abbey, 287. 

Profession of nuns, 210. 

u Religion," monastic signifi- 
cation of the word, 204, 
273. 

Raimes, or Rayne, feif and fa- 
mily of, 367, 368. 

Reliques, 226. 

Revesby abbey, 69. 

Rewley abbey, 161. 

Richard I. coronation of, 81 ; 
death, 100. 

Romara, familv of, 44, 51, 
65—79 ; William de, 53, 54 

Rosamond, Fair, see Clifford. 

Rnpibus, Bp. Peter de, 138. 

Salseto, Peter de, 1S8. 

Salisbury cathedral, foundation 
of, 124— 126 ; visited by 
Henry III. 133 ; text pre- 
sented by Hubert de Burgh, 
ib. ; reception of Earl Wil- 
liam Longespe on his return 
home, 135 3 his funeral, 138, 
monument, 4, 139 ,• his be- 
quest to the building, 145 ; 
lines to children gathering 
flowers in the church-yard, 
64 ; monument of William 
Longespe II. 258 5 of Bishop 
Longespe, 15S ; of Bp. Bing- 
ham ascribed to Bp. Poore, 
370. See OldSarum. 

Earldom, 108, 131, 

149, 169, 227, 266, 272. 

Edward de, 22, 37 



49—51, 53 bis-, Walter de, 
27, 28. 

Patrick first Earl of, 



28, 30 5 William Earl of, 

80. 

• Ela Countess of, see 



William Longespe, Earl 

of, birth, 101 ; attendance 
on King John, 106—113; 
introduction by Shakspeare, 



109 j his campaign in Flan- 
ders, 114; marshal of the 
King's army, 116 5 taken 
prisoner, 117; joins Prince 
Louis, 120 ; acknowledges 
Henry III. 121 ; not at the 
siege of Damietta, 122 
campaign in Gascony, 127 
last voyage and shipwreck 
128 — 130) returns home 
135 ,• supposed to be poison 
ed by Hubert de Burgh, 136 
death-bed, 137 ; funeral 
138; monument, 4, 14, 139 
will, 144 ; seal, 147. 

Seals : of Bradenstoke priory, 
31 ; of William Earl of Sa- 
lisbury and the house of 
Longespe, 147? 148 ; Ela 
Countess of Warwick, 162 ; 
Ela Countess of Salisbury, 
168 ; of the abbey of La- 
cock, 282. 

" Search" of a convent, 214. 

Selby abbey, 49, 59. 

Sherington, pedigree of, 297. 

Shorewell, manor of, 318. 

Shrewton, manor of, 316. 

Shrievalty of Wiltshire, 22, 107, 
168 ; rents of, 37. 

Slade, abbey estate at, 331. 

" Sovereign" of a convent, 205. 

Stanley abbey, 9. 

Stonehenge, 61, 366. 

le Strange, Eubulo, 153. 

Stuteville, Leonia, 55, 368. 

Tailboys, Yvo, 51, 70. 

Tails, ascribed to the English, 
234, 242. 

Talbot, William, 86, 105. 

Tany, Graelent de, 56 j Picot, 
368. 

Temmes, or Temys, Johanna, 
the last abbess, 2SI ; her 
pension, 282 ; pedigree of 
her family, 291. 

Text presented to Salisbury 



Xll 



INDEX, 



cathedral by Hubert de 
Burgh, 133, 354. 

Thame, Edmund, 289, 311. 

Toani, Ralph de, 138. 

Tournaments licensed by Rich- 
ard I. 81 j field near Salis- 
bury, 82, 105, 270 j at 
Blyth, 270 ; evil conse- 
quences of, 271 j at Brack- 
ley, 271. 

Troubadours, 87. 

Trowbridge, abbey estate at, 
332. 

Tynemouth abbey, 59-60. 

Uffcote, abbey estate at, 332. 

Ulster, Earldom of, 155. 

Upham, abbey estate at, 333. 

Vere, Sir Robert de, 227, 247 ; 
biographical notice of, 260. 

Vesci, Isabella de, 160 ; Wil- 
liam de, 144, 160. 

Veteripont, Robert de, 13S. 

Vitre, notices of the family, 
264*. 



Virgins, the Eleven Thousand, 

18. 
Walter le Eurous, 21, 39, 44 j 

Cellarius, 59. 
Wamborough, 154. 
Wanda, William de, 124. 
Warren, Earl, cousin to Ela of 

Salisbury, 104. 
Warwick, Ela Countess of, 

160. 
Westbury, abbey estate at, 333. 
Wiclescote, abbey estate at, 

324. 
Wideley, Sir Robert, 247, 250, 

251, 252. 
Will of William Earl of Salis- 
bury, 144; of William Lbng- 
espe II. 372. 
William the Conqueror, his 

visit to Salisbury. 23 — 27. 
Woodmancote, manor of, 308. 
Wymarca the prioress, 278. 
laZouche, Alan, 156,261. 



lxiii 



LIST OF PLATES. 



View of Lacock Abbey, drawn in 1834 



Frontispeice. 

Page 



Seal of the Priory of Bradenstoke 

Monument of William Longespe, Earl of Salisbury 

Seals, Plate I. of the House of Longespe 

II. of the House of Longespe 

III. of Ela Countess of Warwick 

IV. of Ela Countess of Salisbury 

— — V. of the Convent of Lacock 



31 
139 

147 
148 
162 
169 
282 

View of Lacock Abbey in 1801, by John Carter, F.S.A. 347 
Ground Plan of Lacock Abbey .... 348 

Capitals of columns 349 

Sepulchral Inscription of Ilbertus de Chaz . . 352 

The Nuns' Boiler 360 

Plan of the Cathedral Close of Old Sarum . . 363 



The Binder will insert the five Pedigrees at the pages 
marked on each^and mentioned in the Contents. Pp. 23 — 24 
and pp. 35 — 36 are cancelled ; the quarter-sheet pp. 77* — 80* 
is to follow p. 80 j the quarter-sheet pp. 87* — 90 is to follow 
p. 88 ; and the half-sheet pp. 263 — 266 is introduced instead 
of pp. 263 — 266, which are cancelled. 



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25, PARLIAMENT STREET, WESTMINSTER. 






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